Growing Up in Asgard
by CloudySkylines
Summary: Aurora and Loki are best friends in Asgard. This story begins before the Thor movie and follows their lives as they grow up together and will continue with the other movies. How will Aurora and Loki handle life in Asgard? Growing up in Asgard isn't so easy with high expectations for all citizens, especially for a son of Odin. Can Aurora's friendship save Loki from himself? OC feat.
1. Chapter 1 (Childhood)

Hello everyone! This is my first Loki story. I was originally going to make this a short story but I had some ideas for it so I'm planning to make it a full length story. This story stars pre-Thor and then will continue through Thor, the Avengers, and post-Avengers. I'm hoping I'm able to keep it going as long as I intend to do. Primarily, I'm going to focus this story on friendship but I may include romance later on(it's a strong possibility). I hope you all like this first chapter and please review and follow! Thank you :)

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You walked outside with your journal and quill to your favorite spot by the enormous willow tree in the palace's garden. The garden was your safe haven-the place you went to when you needed to clear your head or just relax by yourself. Heaving a contented sigh, you abandoned your Asgardian manners to plop down onto the cool grass. Smiling to yourself, you opened your journal and began to write. Losing yourself in your thoughts, you failed to hear the footsteps that were approaching you. Before you could react, a pair of hands snatched the leather bound journal from your hands.

"Hey! I don't know who you think you are but-" you began as you turned around to face the person who had so rudely interrupted your thought process.

Fandral smiled down at you, flashing his enticing smile, "My deepest sympathies in disturbing your peace, Lady Aurora."

"Not sorry enough to not do it." you replied bitterly.

Fandral let out a chuckle as he traced his fingers over the spine of the journal. Your hazel eyes fixated on Fandral's fingers as they moved to the edge of the journal, threatening to open it.

"Don't you dare open that journal, Fandral! Hasn't your mother ever told you it's impolite to invade a lady's privacy?" you spoke as you narrowed your gaze at Fandral who simply continued to smile down at you.

"I don't know why you're so afraid of others seeing your work," Fandral began as he opened the journal which elicited a small gasp from you.

Fandral continued, "Your writing is so good you know, and your pictures?" Fandral inquired as he turned a page of the journal towards you, "Absolutely beautiful."

You found yourself blushing despite your wishes. "Thank you, Fandral."

The picture that Fandral had opened the journal to was an earlier sketch you had done of the Asgardian sun setting over the water of the lake. You had also sketched the willow tree with its tendrils hanging down and touching the placid had paid attention to the details of the grass and the flowers as well as the line where the soil turned into the lakebed.  
You had an interest in writing down your deepest thoughts as well as aphorisms and poetry. You also liked to draw portraits and landscape scenes. While most Asgardians had an interest in combat, you preferred to engage in less thrilling activities. To you, finding the perfect words to convey your thoughts and feelings or capturing the perfect lighting for your sketches was just as exhilarating as the rush of battle. However, you still took part in the basic training required of all Asgardians. You struggled with hand to hand combat because you were smaller than the other children your age and lacked the muscle mass required to force an opponent off of your body. Of all the required forms of defense taught to citizens of Asgard, your favorite was swordfighting. It was the only form you'd willingly practice on your own without the supervision or demand from your instructor, Vali. But, you were without her sword which would do you no good in this minor situation with Fandral.

Fandral and his band of friends were collectively referred to as the Warriors Three. They were also rather close with Thor and Loki, Odin's sons, as well as Sif. You were not particularly fond of Fandral because his incessant flirting quickly became cloying and you had no interest in him. The other two members of the Warriors Three, Volstagg and Hogun, were not as annoying, but they were certainly out to help Fandral in his quest to win her heart. Sif was one of your best friends, being one of the only girls around your age in the palace that wasn't a servant or didn't get on your nerves. Sif was much more adept at fighting than you, but the two of you had plenty else in common. The Odinson brothers; who didn't know about them? The two brothers were often the talk of the palace, but you wouldn't guess they were related at all by looking at them. Thor had long golden hair and blue eyes that were always brimming with emotion. Thor, even at a young age, was of sturdy build and commanded attention simply with his presence.

Loki was the polar opposite of Thor in all aspects. Loki had medium length black hair that was straight unlike Thor's wavy hair. Loki's eyes were a shimmering emerald color that never provided a glimpse into how he was feeling or what he was thinking; Loki was always shrouded in mystery. Some would even say he was guarded. Loki was considerably shorter than Thor and he was also much thinner. Loki's complexion and build make him look fragile and frail, but despite his appearance, Loki was just as healthy as Thor. Loki's presence would be overlooked if he were not an Asgardian prince. Loki had a timid voice and demeanor which highlighted his preference for staying out of the spotlight. You liked both of the brothers but of the two, you were much closer with Loki. Loki was your best friend in all of Asgard. He too, did not share the same enthusiasm or proclivity for combat like most Asgardians did.

"Sincerely, I could boast of many lovely things about your work. None of which of course, are as lovely as you."

"Oh save it, Fandral, can't you see that flattery isn't garnering you any favor with her?" a voice called out from behind Fandral.

You craned your neck to see who had just saved you from coming up with a reply to Fandral to discover a thin, dark haired and pale skinned boy behind Fandral. Fandral also turned around to see who had ruined his attempts at courting you to see Loki clad in his usual royal attire standing behind him.

Fandral squinted at Loki, "I'm not sure what garnered means so I don't know if I should be offended or not."

Loki rolled his eyes which earned a giggle from you. "Maybe if you spent more time studying than striking out with girls you would understand what it means."

"Okay, I've decided that I am officially offended." Fandral huffed.

Loki took a few steps forward so he stood close enough to Fandral to quickly take your journal from his hands.

"Hey! Give that back!" Fandral yelled.

Loki tucked the journal under his arm and shook his head. "It does not belong to you. You took it and I'm taking it from you. Doesn't feel too good, does it?"

Fandral sighed in frustration. "I could easily grab that from you, Loki."

"It does not matter, you wouldn't try." Loki replied as he circled Fandral to stand closer to your side by the water.

Fandral raised an eyebrow, "I wouldn't?"

Loki gestured with his free hand, "Prove me wrong if you feel so entitled."

At that, Fandral sought out to do just that. Quickly, Fandral lunged for the book in Loki's hand anticipating contact only to see Loki disappear before his eyes. Instead of making contact with Loki, Fandral met face first with the lake water.

"Hahaha! Fandral, you fell into the lake!" You found yourself laughing uncontrollably.

Fandral snapped his head up out of the water as droplets fell back into the water from his soaked hair and face. Utterly embarrassed and confused, Fandral turned around asking, "How? He was right there..." only to see Loki standing a foot in front of you with a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

You also turned to look for Loki who smiled down at you as you continued to laugh at Fandral's expense. You knew it was rude, but you thought he deserved what was a potentially fatal blow to his ego.

"Perhaps you are not as swift as you think you are." Loki said quietly.

Fandral stared back at Loki in shock before standing up and angrily marching his way out of the lake, past you and Loki, and out of sight.

"That was brilliant Loki! How did you do it?" you asked, your eyes shining.

Loki took a step closer to you and knelt down to hand you your journal back, "Magic, Lady Aurora."

You lightly punched him on the shoulder, "Nonsense Loki! You're too young to be a sorcerer."

Loki chuckled at your light punch. "I am so sorry to disagree with you, but I have been learning. You know I read a lot."

You nodded at Loki's response; reading was a common interest the two of you shared.

"Well, I've been studying up on magic books and it seems I have an aptitude for it. This suits me such better than fighting does." Loki said with a frown.

"I know what you mean. I wish I had something different like you have magic now." you said wistfully.

Like you, Loki's stature hindered his performance in combat. You were slightly jealous that Loki had found a new way to deal with situations besides relying on brute strength. Loki's emerald eyes twinkled suddenly. You knew that look.

"What is it Loki? I'd recognize that look anywhere." you inquired.

"It's just that maybe I could try and teach you some of what I've been learning." Loki said with a shy smile.

"Really!?" you asked excitedly.

Loki nodded, "Yes, although I must warn you that I'm probably not a good teacher since I've never taught anyone anything before and I don't know much magic yet myself. I haven't even perfected this yet."

"It's no matter Loki! I'd love for you to try and teach me!" you smiled.

Loki returned your smile. "Great! When would you like to start? I'll need to get my books though..." Loki began before a loud voice cut him off.

"LADY AURORA, FANDRAL TELLS ME MY BROTHER PUSHED HIM IN THE WATER. IS THIS TRUE?!"

Loki sighed heavily as Thor came bounding over.

You shook your head furiously. "Loki did no such thing. Fandral fell in the water. He stole my journal, but Loki got it back for me. That's when Fandral stumbled into the water."

Thor nodded his head and smiled. "Glad to hear it. I must confess I was skeptical of Fandral's tale even though he is sopping wet. Can you imagine my brother pushing someone over? Haha! No offense brother," Thor clapped his hand down on the smaller brother's shoulder, "but you haven't enough force to knock over Fandral."

Loki jolted at the impact of Thor's hand on his shoulder. "None taken brother, as long as you believe that I am innocent of this affair."

"Oh I do brother! Perhaps Fandral made up that tale so as not to seem so uncoordinated!" Thor boomed.

"Yes, surely he is not feeling so confident about himself right now." you added.

"It is not my fault that Fandral has embarrased himself. I am merely a witness to what happened; I did not force him to fall." Loki spoke.

Thor nodded. "I believe you, brother. I'm going to go back inside now. I shall see you later. Farewell, Lady Aurora."

"Farewell, Thor." you waved as he began walking back to the palace.

Now you turned your attention to Loki. "I've yet to properly thank you for retrieving my journal."

Loki shook his head. "No need, I was simply returning what was taken from you. Any person with manners would have done the same thing. You do not need to thank me. "

"Nonsense." you said with a smile as you stood up and hugged Loki.

You wrapped your arms around him and he gingerly did the same to you. Loki wasn't one for much physical contact with his peers, but he was not as afraid of hugging you. It was probably because you didn't intimidate him and you could relate with him. That ability made you both feel comfortable near each other.

"Thank you, Loki." you said in the embrace.

"Anytime, Lady Aurora." Loki responded before the two of you broke the embrace.

"Hey," you grinned at him, "It looks like we're the same height now. Remember when I was taller than you? Now you're catching up!" you pointed out as your gaze fell even with Loki's.

Loki looked slightly awkward as he gave you a small smile. "It's about time. Maybe someday everyone will stop teasing me about being short."

"You're getting there!" you said as you ruffled his neat hair.

"Hey! What was that for?" Loki asked as he scrambled to finger comb his hair back into place.

You giggled, "Just thought I'd mess up your hair while I can still reach."

"I'm sure you'll have plenty more opportunities." Loki said as he finished smoothing his hair down.

"Why do you always keep yourself so...rigidly in place?" you asked.

Loki stiffened slightly at your use of the word "rigid". "Since I'm Odin's son, I have to look my best and be on my best behavior because I might be chosen as king one day...unless of course, Thor is chosen instead."

"I think either of you would make a suitable king." you said softly.

"Thank you, I'd like to think so too." Loki answered.

"So, when are you going to tell Thor about your magic?" you asked.

"I don't know," Loki paused, "I'm not sure how he or anyone would react to it."

"I think you should tell him. He'd probably think it's amazing." you offered.

"Maybe I'll tell him soon." Loki said quietly.

You nodded," I understand."

Loki offered you a smile, "Would you like to come with me to get my magic books so I can try and teach you?"

"Definitely! Let's go!" you exclaimed as you grabbed his hand and began pulling him with you up the hill to the palace.


	2. Chapter 2 (Childhood)

Hey everyone! This chapter is shorter than the first one, but chapter three is already written and is much longer than this one. Once again, please follow and review! :)

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"This isn't working!" you yelled in frustration.

"Keep trying, Aurora. You'll get it." Loki said softly.

You sighed, "We've been at this for quite some time now. I can't conjure a wisp of smoke, let alone an object."

"Just watch what I do." Loki said.

Loki took a deep breath and closed his eyes to block out any distractions and steady his thoughts.

"Just imagine what you want to appear in your mind. Get a clear picture of what it looks like and then," Loki spoke as he flicked his wrist to produce a snake on the floor of his room.

"AAAAHHH! Loki! You know I don't like snakes!" you screamed as you jumped onto his bed and brought your knees to your chest.

"It won't hurt you, Aurora! Look, it's gone!" Loki spoke urgently as he waved his hand and the creature dissipated into thin air.

You breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got off the bed to join Loki on the floor once more.

"Okay, I am not going to conjure a snake that's for sure."

Loki chuckled, "Try something inanimate perhaps."

You nodded as you mimicked Loki's actions and concentrated on your thoughts. Loki stared back at you patiently although you could not see him through your closed eyes.

"Anything?" you asked with your eyes still shut.

Loki did not wish to upset you by informing you that nothing had appeared. Before he could reply, you opened your eyes and groaned at the empty space in front of you.

"It was supposed to be a rock." You muttered in disappointment.

Loki looked at you sympathetically, "You mustn't give up. I'm sure it would have been a very nice rock. "  
"Loki, I don't think I have the capability to learn magic. If I did, wouldn't something small have happened already?" you asked him.

Loki shrugged, "Perhaps. It happened pretty quickly for me, but it's strange that I can do magic and the rest of you can't. "

"You're just more special than the rest of us." you smiled faintly.

"Oh I doubt that." Loki said shaking his head.

"Loki," you said sternly, "Stop doubting your value as an individual. So what if you're smaller than the others and aren't as good at fighting as they are? I have the same problem, but I don't let it overcome me. I wish I was equal to the others, but I've accepted that I'm a little bit different. I have talent elsewhere that the others don't have. Sure, writing and drawing aren't as useful as strength and fighting skills, but my skills suit me better. You should fight with your mind instead of your body. You're so intelligent, Loki. You know so many big words and your magic is something special. None of the others are as smart as you and none of them can use magic at all…myself included." you added.

"I don't know what to say." Loki said dumbfounded.

"C'mon Silvertongue, your words never fail you." you said.

"Silvertongue?" Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's your nickname from now on- Silvertongue." you answered.

Loki laughed. "Okay, if you insist."

"I do, but seriously, you're wonderful and don't forget it. I know it's tough when you feel so far behind everyone else, but your time will come." you said as you placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.

Loki looked at your hand and then at you. "As will yours."

"We'll see." you smiled, "I think I'm always going to be small."

"It's not as tragic for a girl though. What kind of warrior is a short one?" Loki asked sadly.

"Even if you never match their heights, your magic would be helpful on the battlefield without a doubt." you said.

"I suppose." Loki mumbled.

"It'll come." You said as you closed the open spell book. "As for me, I think I'm done getting frustrated with my failure to learn magic."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that it might not be possible for you to learn." Loki apologized.

"No worries. I'm touched that you even chose to share something with me that is unique and special to you. You're a good friend." you smiled at Loki.

"Just a good friend?" Loki pouted.

"My _best_ friend." you emphasized.

"You're my best friend too." Loki smiled.

"Good, because I'd have to fight whoever beat me out for your friendship." you laughed.

"Oh no, none of that I beg of you." Loki said softly as he pulled you over to him.

"You're right," you sighed, "I'd lose in a fight anyway."

"It is of no matter, you're the only one who really understands me and doesn't think of me as of lesser quality. You treat me as an equal and that's all I ever want from anyone. You'll always be my best friend, so there is no need to fight anyone for your spot in my life." Loki spoke with his arm around your shoulder and your head in the crook of his neck.

"You're so kind, Loki. I'm honored to have a best friend such as you." you said as you nestled closer to him.

Loki squeezed you tightly and said, "I feel the same way about you. I don't know what I'd do without you by my side."

"I'll always be by your side, Loki. I promise you that."

"I promise too." Loki said softly.

At Loki's promise you felt your heart swell with a warm feeling you couldn't identify. What Loki had said to you made you feel like you had found one true friend in this realm and as long as you had one true friend, you felt like that was all you needed. You were young by Asgardian standards, and still had so much more to experience. You were both excited and fearful of the things to come, but you were just glad to have Loki by your side.


	3. Chapter 3 (Childhood)

This chapter features some dynamics of the other characters like Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Thor, etc. Please follow/review! :)

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"Sif, I ca-a-a-n-n't brea-a-the." you panted.

"C'mon Aurora, don't give up now!" Sif shouted, breathing perfectly fine.

You would have groaned if you had enough air and the lung power to do so, but you had to settle for continuing to try and disarm Sif. The two of you were sword fighting at training as your instructor Vali stood by and watched. Sif was much bigger than you were and had more stamina. While sword fighting was your best area in combat, you were still no match for Sif. In a final attempt to win the round, you spun around with all the energy you could muster to swipe sideways at Sif, but her sword met yours with a clang as your sword slipped out of your hands and fell to the ground in a cloud of dust. You collapsed on the ground next to it, on your knees.

"Sif wins." you murmurred under your breath at the same time Vali yelled, "Sif wins!"

You focused on sucking in deep breaths of air, as if you could never make up for the air you lost in the mock battle. Sif offered a hand to help you up which you took.

"Good match, Aurora." she spoke.

"Thanks. I tried." you breathed heavily.

"I think it was your best so far, you're improving." Sif smiled.

You smiled back, "I'll still never beat you though."

"Well, should you ever, I'll gracefully accept defeat at the hand of my friend." Sif replied.

"We'll see." you smiled as you took your seat back down on the bench. Sif was to face another girl and then the boys would have their turn.

Loki was sitting next to you looking anxious. You could tell he was nervous because he didn't want to be humiliated by one of the guys again. He congratulated you on your performance though.

"Thanks, Loki. Maybe I really am getting a little better. I'm sure you are too!"

Loki shook his head. "Doubtful."

"Well, why don't you use a little bit of your magic to help you win?" you asked.

Loki narrowed his gaze in confusion. "Do you think that is permitted?"

You shrugged, "It could help you in battle so I think any skill you can use to your advantage is allowed. Only one way to find out right?"

"I suppose so." Loki answered as Liv, another girl in training, had her sword fall to the floor as Sif was once again declared the victor.

Loki tensed up; knowing that the guys would be called next and he had a sinking feeling that he was going to be called for the first match. Loki's suspicions were confirmed when Vali called out his name along with Volstagg's.

"Greaaaat." Loki groaned.

"You'll be fine!" you reassured him as Loki stood up with his sword to meet Volstagg in the sparring arena.

"I'll go easy on you." Volstagg spoke.

Loki rolled his eyes as he heard a snicker, undoubtedly from Fandral.

"Hush, be quiet!" Thor yelled at the spectator.

"On the count of three the match will begin. You know the rules. One..two...three!" Vali shouted as he quickly backed off.

Volstagg and Loki both unsheathed their swords and Volstagg swung first narrowly missing Loki who jumped back just in time to avoid getting nicked by the blade. Loki thrust his sword forward towards Volstagg who met the sword with his own. Volstagg and loki's swords were locked against each other as both tried to overpower the other. Ultimately, Volstagg succeeded as Loki stumbled backwards but regained his balance. Volstagg advanced closer to Loki who shakily clutched his sword in his hand. Volstagg smirked at Loki before he charged at him. Loki's eyes went wide and he found his feet rooted at the spot. Volstagg was still coming and Loki was still standing in the same place. Loki's mind was in overdrive out of fear of being bulldozed by Volstagg. Loki knew he wouldn't have enough time to run out of the way so he did all he could think of; he vanished.

"That's what he did to me!" Fandral yelled out.

"What the-" Volstagg began before he could stop running as he tripped and hit the ground.  
Loki reappeared over Volstagg and touched the tip of his sword to Volstagg's armor.

"H-how did y-you do that?" Volstagg stammered as he looked up at Loki.

"Magic." was all Loki said.

"GOOD JOB BROTHER!" Thor boomed from his position on the bench. You were cheering for Loki too, but your voice was drowned out by Thor's voice.

Loki smiled faintly, but his smile faded when Fandral yelled out, "Magic is preposterous! He cheated! Volstagg is the real victor!"

"Now Fandral, calm down." Vali said raising his hand to stop the yelling.

Then, he turned his attention to Loki and looked down at him. "Where did you learn such magic?"

Loki gulped. "I taught myself."

Vali clicked his tongue, "I see."

"Am I in trouble?" Loki asked with his green eyes wide.

"You should be!" Fandral called out.

"Oh come off it!" you yelled at him.

"You two! Stop fighting this instant!" Vali turned around pointing a finger at you and a seething Fandral.

"But sir-" you protested only to be cut off.

"I will handle the matter myself." Vali said firmly.

You decided to keep quiet, but glared daggers at Fandral.

"Now," Vali said turning to Loki, "Magic is not something we normally deal with around here."

Loki hung his head as Vali continued, "It is not even in the rulebook. The rulebook does state however, that any skill set may be used so long as it is not an unfair advantage."

"And using magic is unfair." Fandral muttered.

"Fandral," you hissed, "Stop being such an insolent fool. Volstagg is an unfair opponent in general because of his size. You're just hurt because Loki tricked you into falling into the lake with his magic so just stop. You're not helping your case."

Hogun, the other member of the Warriors Three, leaned over and whispered something in Fandral's ear. You continued to glare at Fandral, daring him to slander your friend some more.

"My apologies Lady Aurora." he said to you after Hogun pulled away from Fandral.

"Right." you said tersely as you diverted your attention to Loki and Vali.

"I feel as if your use of magic could potentially be deemed unfair, but given your circumstances," Vali said eyeing Loki up and down, no doubt referring to his stature, "I will allow it. Loki is the victor of this battle."

Loki jerked his head up in shock. Volstagg sat upright and rubbed his head. Thor cheered loudly for his brother, Sif gave a small smile for the underdog, and Fandral scoffed angrily. You smirked at Fandral's reaction which was not missed by Vali.

"Fandral, since you seem so displeased with the outcome why don't you come down here and face Loki?" Vali spoke.

"But sir-" Fandral began.

"It wasn't a suggestion, Fandral." Vali said firmly.

Fandral bit his lip and trudged over to where Loki and Vali stood.

"_Beat him, Loki_." you urged in your mind.

"_Oh, I will_." a voice responded in your head.

You gasped which drew Thor's attention. "What is wrong Lady Aurora?"

"Oh nothing Thor, just shocked at the turn of events is all." you said as you covered up the real reason for your gasp.

"_Can Loki read my mind?"_ you asked yourself.

"_You are correct in your assumptions."_ the same voice replied which sounded just like Loki.

"_You're starting to scare me a bit."_ you thought.

Loki turned his head to face you and winked. "_No need to fret. I'd never hurt you._"

You smiled back at him, "_I know."_

Loki turned around to face Fandral as Vali counted down. As soon as the match started, Fandral reacted quickly by swinging rapidly without any particular strategy. Loki looked startled as he jumped backward to avoid the reckless swinging. Fandral appeared to be swinging out of pure frustration and anger. He was bound to hurt someone else, or even himself. Loki stuck his sword out to meet Fandral's as the two engaged in combat. Fandral wasn't much bigger than Loki so they were almost evenly matched. Loki faked Fandral out and hit him in the chest with his sword causing Fandral to fall. Fandral's sword fell out of his hands and he rolled over on his side to try and crawl towards it. Before he could reach it, Loki picked up Fandral's sword and pointed his own at Fandral's throat. Fandral sneered at Loki before putting his hands up in defeat.

"This is absurd." Fandral huffed.

"Your behavior is what is absurd." Loki countered.

"Loki wins!" Vali called out.

Loki returned Fandral's sword and offered him his hand to help Fandral up. Fandral rejected Loki's hand and stood up by himself. Fandral brushed himself off and dragged himself back to where his friends were sitting.

"My brother is getting quite good isn't he my friend?" Thor asked Fandral upon his return.

"I guess so." Fandral said so as not to anger Thor who was protective of his brother.

"That'll conclude training for today everyone! You are all dismissed!" Vali called out.

"Thank the gods." Fandral groaned as he briskly made his way out of the area with Thor, Volstagg, and Hogun behind him.

You remained with Loki and Sif. Thor came back over however, and patted his brother on the back, "You looked like a warrior out there today, brother."

A tinge of red crept onto Loki's pale face which you guessed was from shyness or embarrassment.

"Thank you, Thor." Loki said without meeting Thor's eyes.

Thor patted him on the shoulder once more with a smile before he hurried off to catch up with the Warrior's Three.

"Thor is right you know." you said to Loki who was shifting on his feet uncomfortably.

"Indeed. I've never seen you perform so well before." Sif agreed.

"Magic is not used by warriors." Loki said quietly.

"No, but it could be. You could be the first." you said placing a friendly hand on his shoulder.

Loki looked up at you. "You think so?"

"Of course! Besides, it looked like you didn't even use magic when you faced Fandral." you pointed out.

Loki was smiling despite himself. "I didn't."

"See! You beat him all on your own!" you exclaimed.

"Fandral certainly isn't taking too kindly to his defeat." Sif spoke.

You waved your hand. "He deserved it. His ego is really insufferable."

Sif frowned. "He's not that bad."

"You didn't hear about what he did to me the other day then, did you?" you asked.

"I have not." Sif admitted.

You recounted the story of Fandral stealing your journal, bothering you, and then Loki coming to your rescue.

"Aww, Fandral was just trying to court you. He appears to fancy you." Sif gushed.

You scoffed, "Well, he should go fancy someone else."

"You should consider yourself lucky, he is already becoming handsome." Sif said with a look similar to jealousy.

"I don't fancy him or his attention at all. I wish he would stop trying to win me over." you sighed.

You could tell that Loki was uncomfortable from the girl talk about Fandral.

"Sorry, Loki." you apologized.

"It's not a problem. I just don't want Fandral to think I'm slandering him or that I hate him." Loki said.

"It's good you don't hate him." Sif noted.

"I think he hates me though." Loki frowned.

"I think he's just putting on a facade to seem like he does." you said.

"He's just embarrassed that you bested him twice." Sif added.

"Has he said anything?" Loki narrowed his gaze at Sif.

Sif looked at a loss for words. "More or less what I just said."

"Why does he loathe losing to Loki so much?" you asked Sif.

Loki scoffed, "I think I know."

"Oh, Loki, please don't think you're inferior to anyone." you pleaded.

"You're much more humble than Fandral. That's a good thing." Sif said.

"I have nothing to boast of; that is why I'm more humble than he is." Loki said solemnly.

"That isn't true. You are a great friend." you said looking at him sadly.

"In your eyes maybe." Loki said.

"She is right, Loki. You are a good person." Sif nodded.

"See Loki? Not everyone views you as lowly as you think they do." you added.

"I thank you both for your kindness, but I think I'm going to retire to my room for a while." Loki announced.

You looked sadly at him for a moment and then said, "If that is what you wish."

With that, you and Sif parted ways with Loki. Loki's small form wandered down the corridor and disappeared around a corner. You and Sif decided to walk to the dining hall where you met up with everyone else.

"Aye! It is Lady Sif and Lady Aurora!" Volstagg called out from behind a pile of food.

"Hello everyone." Sif said as she sat down next to Volstagg.

You sat across from Sif and next to Thor.

"Where is Loki?" Thor asked you.

"He wanted to go to his room to be alone." you said quietly.

Thor looked sad at your words. "After this I should go and speak to him."

"Perhaps that would be a good idea." you agreed.

"It is settled then. I will speak to my brother after we eat." Thor said as he began eating his food.

You noticed that Fandral seemed oddly quiet for his usual self. "What's the matter with you?" you asked him.

He gazed back at you. "What are you getting at?"

"Why are you mean to Loki?" you inquired.

Fandral rolled his eyes. "I don't understand why you like him so much."

Your eyes clouded over with anger. "He's my best friend!"

"Really? That's all?" Fandral smirked at you.

You felt yourself getting even angrier. "Yes, Fandral! Whatever you are hinting at, stop it!"

Fandral, however, kept going. "Maybe if Loki had a girl he wouldn't be so uptight and antisocial all the time. Too bad he'll never get one."

"Fandral!" Thor yelled.

"Why on Asgard would any of us need a partner right now? We are so young! It is unnecessary!" you yelled out in rage.

"This is enough Fandral." Thor said firmly.

"All I'm saying is Loki is the way he is because he doesn't have a girl and he will always be the way he is because no girl would want someone like him." Fandral said smugly.

"I would much rather be with. Loki than you! You're awful!" you said full of angry tears as you stood up and left the table.

"Lady Aurora, wait!" Thor called after you, but you just quickened your pace.

With your vision blurred by angry tears and your brisk pace, you failed to see the person in front of you and you walked straight into them.


	4. Chapter 4 (Childhood)

Thank you to everyone who favorite/followed this story! Also, an extra thank you to **A Wild Clover **for your lovely review :) Don't worry, Loki will definitely become more like we've come to know him! The next chapter (chapter 5) will begin to show a change in him that will continue throughout the story that portrays him as more of the Loki we've all come to know and love :) Also, thank you for your suggestion, that was definitely something running in the back of my mind as well and what you're suggesting is how I originally planned this story to go and I very well may still hold to that original idea! Once again, thanks :)

Without further ado, here is chapter 4!

* * *

"Loki?" you sniffled as you wiped your eyes to focus on the figure standing very close to you.

Loki's emerald eyes were full of concern. "What happened Aurora? Did someone hurt you?" he asked urgently.

"Fandral is so intolerable." You managed to say.

Loki's eyes changed from concerned to angry at the mention of Fandral. "What did he do to you?"

You wiped your tears away with your sleeve again as you said, "He didn't do anything to me. He just says such mean stuff about you and it upsets me because I care about you so much."

Loki's eyes softened, "Aurora..."

"No, Loki, don't tell me it's okay because it isn't. I can't stand to see you treated this way." You spoke with your voice quivering slightly.

"Shh, shh. Come here." Loki said softy as he opened his arms.

You burst into tears at his gesture as you walked into his arms. Loki wrapped his arms around you and whispered, "Don't worry for me. Fandral's behavior towards me does not upset me very much. He isn't worthy of my friendship, that's all."

"B-b-but you're Odin's son, h-he should r-resp-p-pect you." you choked out.

"I may be Odin's son, but I am not going to hold my status over anyone's head. That wouldn't be right." Loki said quietly.

"Well, I would if I were you." you said into his shirt.

Loki laughed and you felt it rumble in his chest. "Try not to harbor such hatred for Fandral. He's just immature. He'll grow up eventually."

"It's foolish that I can't stand him when you're so calm about this. After all, this is about you not me, and I'm the one crying over it." you said.

Loki squeezed you against him, "It's not foolish. You care about me and that makes me happy."  
"I'm glad you know I care." you said now looking at his eyes.

"I do and I also care about you." he said to you.

You smiled. "I know you do, Loki."

"Good. Now how about we get out of this corridor?" he asked you.

You laughed, "I guess we probably should. Where to?"

"Why don't we go back in there where everyone is? I might as well make my appearance." Loki said.

"Uh... I kind of made a bit of a scene." you said as you looked down at your feet.

"Did you now?" Loki asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I told Fandral he was awful and ran out in tears." you said blushing.

"No worries, he probably won't be so smug when he sees me." Loki said as he pulled you with him toward the dining hall.

"By the way," you began, "You can really read my mind can't you?"

Loki chuckled, "Yes, and I can communicate telepathically too."

"Wow, you're learning a lot quite fast." you marveled.

"I suppose so. I like magic and it seems to come easily to me." Loki said as the two of you continued to walk side by side.

"Your intelligence is a little scary." you said eyeing him.

Loki turned his head to face you. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, you know all these things that I can't do or understand. I know a lot of words, but I feel like your vocabulary is surpassing mine and soon I'm going to be as confused as everyone else is when you speak!" you laughed.

"I think not. You possess a different mind than they do. They are warriors and can only think as such, but your mind is more like mine. I do not think you need to fear being left in the shadows of confusion." Loki spoke.

"For now maybe, but we're all changing and you're just becoming so intelligent so fast. I don't think I can keep up with you. You better not leave me behind!" you exclaimed as you poked him in the chest.

"I won't! I promise!" Loki swore with his hand over his heart.

"You better! Although I'm serious about your mind scaring me a little bit." you continued.

Loki looked confused. "Me? I'd never want to intentionally hurt anyone. Even if my magic is a little startling, I wouldn't use it for evil, some pranks and tricks yes, but evil, no."

You breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Why? Do you think I would?" Loki asked as he studied your face.

"No, it's just that nobody would know how to fend off someone who can conjure things out of thin air, tap into their mind, or teleport at will. It makes you a formidable opponent." you said.

Loki looked taken aback. "Me? Formidable? Nonsense. I think you've got the wrong Loki."

"You are the only Loki." you said as you pushed him lightly.

"Then your conceptions are, my apologies, misconstrued." Loki smiled.

"See, it's already starting. I don't know what misconstrued means." you laughed.

"It means you are essentially mistaken. You need not worry about what I will do for no evil will come of it." Loki told you.

By now, the two of you had reached the entrance to the dining hall. "I believe you. Now, let's go make nice with everyone." you said.

"After you." Loki bowed and gestured that you lead the way.

"Thank you, sir." you giggled as you walked into the hall followed by Loki.

* * *

"Loki! Nice of you to join us! I hope you weren't going to want any of this, because I ate it all." Volstagg laughed jovially as he gestured to the plate of food in front of him.

"No need to worry, Volstagg." Loki smiled and waved his hand.

You noticed that Fandral had tensed up upon your arrival with Loki to the table. This time, you decided not to mention it to him since nobody seemed to want to comment on your teary departure only moments ago. It was as if they were pretending it had never happened and that was just fine with you.

"Greetings brother and Lady Aurora!" Thor said loudly as the two of you sat down at the table.

You smiled at Thor as Loki nodded his greeting.

"Are the two of you going to get anything to eat?" Sif asked you.

You looked at Loki who nodded before answering her, "We are. We'll be right back."

You and Loki stood up and walked away from the table to get some food.

"They don't seem to be too affected by your earlier departure." Loki said to you as you both loaded food onto your plates.

"You noticed that too I see. Yes, I'm glad they haven't mentioned it. I feel really embarrassed by the ordeal and I'd rather none of them spoke about it." You admitted.

"In any regard, I thank you for sticking up for me." Loki said as he finished putting the last bits of food on his plate.

You did the same and turned to face him. "I'll always defend you, Loki. That's what best friends do."

Loki offered you a smile as he began walking back to the table with you in pursuit.

"_So this is how it feels to have a best friend you care so deeply about." _You thought to yourself and this time, Loki did not answer you back in your head, but in front of you he smiled to himself for he had heard your thoughts, but chose not to speak to you in your mind because you had told him it frightened you a little bit and Loki did not wish to scare you.


	5. Chapter 5 (Childhood)

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed/favorite/reviewed. It makes my day to see things like that! Thank you to **A Wild Clover, mougann, and Cougar rolypoly bug **for your reviews! I'm so glad you all like this so far :)

This chapter was slightly hard for me to write because of the bullying scene since there was a long period in my life when I was constantly bullied, so this brought back some feelings to the surface making it a little hard to write. The majority of this chapter is done in Loki's POV. Please continue to review! :)

* * *

After dinner you decided to retire to your room to have some downtime. You decided to wash the day off of you, particularly the dust from your earlier fall during training, and you felt much more refreshed after doing so. Pulling out your journal, you skimmed through its pages to look at sketches and writings you had previously done. You frowned at some of them because you were highly critical of your work and were your harshest judge. You kept your work hidden from the eyes of others as much as possible because when someone criticized your work, you felt like they were also attacking you as a person because you put part of yourself in every picture you drew and everything you wrote. Even Loki had ever rarely seen the contents of your journal, but he never pried or got offended that you chose to keep them to yourself, which was another quality Loki possessed that made you like him so much.

Even though both you and Loki were young, mere children by Asgardian standards, you felt that you had already made a lifelong friend and as an Asgardian, you certainly had a very long life ahead of you.

* * *

**Loki POV**

Aurora had just exited from the hall hugging me before she bid me goodnight. I was leaning against the stone wall of the entrance to the dining hall watching her walk away, her long mahogany colored hair bouncing back and forth. As she turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, I decided to go back to my own room. I was planning on reading more of my magic books. There was a new spell I wanted to try and learn. If done successfully, it would allow me to produce multiple copies of myself. Before I could even put one foot in front of the other as I began walking back to my room, I felt a push on my back and before I knew it, I was falling. My face hit the stone cold floor and absorbed most of the impact from my short fall.

"Ummmmffppphh." I groaned into the stone floor before rolling over onto my back.

"I see that your magic tricks didn't protect your face." A voice sniggered from above me that I recognized to be Fandral's voice.

I opened my eyes to see him standing above me with a smug look on his face. I chose not to dignify him with a response.

He didn't take too kindly to my silence.

"Oh, you think you're too good to talk to me because you're a prince, is that it?" Fandral laughed with his voice laced with irritation.

However, I still chose not to utter a single syllable. Instead, I glared up at him with my back still against the floor.

Fandral was growing increasingly annoyed with my silence and his insults kept coming, "If anyone should be a prince, it should be me."

Another: "Some prince you are; laying on the floor with your face all bloodied up and scarred."

The third: "Princes are supposed to be handsome; you just look like a pale, sickly, commoner."

The fourth: "You're also too weak to rule Asgard. A kingdom under your command would surely fall."

The fifth: "You don't stand a chance against Thor. When the time comes, everyone knows he is going to be chosen as king over you, even you know it and if you don't, you're not as smart as everyone thinks you are."

I winced at that fifth invective. Fandral seemed to notice the slight reaction from me which caused him to grin and continue.

"I bet Odin and Frigga are so disappointed in you that they wish you weren't their son."

Fandral finally got his wish; I snapped. Maybe not in the way he'd hoped, since he was clearly trying to start a fight, but I still cracked.

"Shut up! Shut up!" I yelled angrily as I quickly sat up and stared back at him, my fists clenched.

Fandral put his hands up in mock sorrow and said, "My sincerest apologies to the prince of Asgard. It seems you can speak after all."

I felt my upper lip curling above my teeth as I replied bitterly, "Much better than you can."

"Ah yes, Silvertongue is it? That's what you're being called around here now? Well, it is of no concern to me that your speech is better than mine when I'm better than you at everything else." Fandral smirked.

I finally stood up with hot tears behind my eyes, threatening to fall. I refused to let them fall, especially in front of Fandral. It would bring him too much satisfaction to see me display such weakness. So, instead I said, "If I were you, I would be more concerned about how I choose to speak."

Fandral laughed at me again saying, "You're threatening me now? _You? _This is too funny…"

I could feel the tension building in my hands as I clenched my fists harder. He was trying to provoke me and I hated to admit it, but he was doing a pretty good job.

"Whether or not I'm threatening you depends on your course of action and if you desire to degrade me some more." I seethed.

Fandral's face grew red and I assumed it was because he did not understand what degrade meant. My suspicions were confirmed when Fandral said, "I don't know what degrade means, but I don't need to know what it means to know that it makes me want to keep doing this to you more."

I stepped closer to Fandral so that I could get up close in his face as I growled, "That would not be wise."

Fandral seemed slightly startled at the noise that came out of my throat and I was surprised myself. I had never made a noise like that before; I didn't even know I was capable of making such a menacing sound. Still, I acted as if I was not surprised at all so as not to seem weak in front of Fandral.

"I'm not afraid of you." Fandral announced.

I shrugged. "Whether you fear me or not is of no concern to me. It'd be in your best interest, however, to leave me alone."

"You just want me to let you go so you can run back to your room and cry. Well, be my guest," Fandral bowed sarcastically, "enjoy your cry session."

With that, Fandral walked away. I did not know if anyone noticed the spectacle and I did not care to find out, so without looking into the dining hall to see if anyone was watching, I walked briskly back to my room. Fandral was wrong; I was not going to run back to my room. However, I did cry. I didn't want to cry and I tried to fight back the tears, but the dam had burst and the tears I had been holding back cascaded down my face like a relentless waterfall. I was ashamed of myself; here I was, violently crying in my room because someone had been mean to me. I was ashamed that I had been targeted in the first place. What was wrong with me that Fandral had sought me out and claimed me as his subject of torture? I cried because I felt worthless, alone, and pathetic. I knew that I could go to Aurora's room, but she had wanted to be by herself and I did not wish to bother her. I also did not want her to see me like this. If she did, then she would think less of me just like everyone else already does and I'm not confident that I could handle that. So, I curled up on my bed as the sobs racked my body. I cried so much that my head hurt and my vision was blurry. I cried until my face was drenched with tears and even my hands had tears on them too from covering my eyes and wiping the tears away even though they just kept coming. I cried because I thought it was foolish of me to be this upset over how I was being treated and then I cried because of that, too. Soon, it became hard to tell why I had really even started crying to being with; it could have been Fandral's actions towards me in the hall, or it could have been my own thoughts as it was happening. I didn't know anymore and it didn't matter because either way, I was pathetic. Fandral was right; I didn't deserve to be a part of my family.

After I found that I could no longer shed any tears, I laid on my bed clutching my pillow, trying to steady my breathing. I felt completely drained from the exhausting efforts of crying so much. Mixed in with the feeling of exhaustion was anger. Fueled by this anger, I found the energy to get off of my bed and walk over to a mirror. I looked at my reflection and I didn't like what I saw. My face was indeed marred by scars and stained crimson with flecks of blood. My eyes were glassy and bloodshot from crying, and my normally pale cheeks were flushed red. As I stared back at my reflection I set my jaw and clenched my fists in anger again. I vowed that I would get my revenge somehow. I refused to be pushed around by Fandral anymore, or anyone for that matter.

"I'm Loki, son of Odin, and it's time that I started acting like it." I said to myself while watching my reflection in the mirror mouth the words as well.

"_Oh yes,_" I thought to myself, "_Everyone is going to regret what they've made me become._"

* * *

A/N: Definite change in tone for Loki at the end here- I wanted to develop his character a little bit before shaping him into the Loki that we know. There's still going to be a number of chapters before he resembles more of the Loki we see in Thor, since this story precedes the movie to a point, before it follows the course of the movies.

I think I'm going to post a few more chapters of childhood before moving on to what I'll probably title as adolescence; since Asgardian time doesn't pass like our time does I want to avoid giving definitive ages saying something like, "equivalent to age 17 on earth" or something like that because it can get a bit verbose. At that point, Loki will be much more like he is usually depicted as the story continues. The next chapter has some references to mythology in it and I will point those out in my next update before the chapter begins!


	6. Chapter 6 (Childhood)

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this earlier today since in a few hours I'm going to my friend's get together. He's an Eagle Scout and he leaves for a 6 week long duration at a camp a few hours away as a mentor so we won't be seeing him until the middle of August so tonight is kind of like a farewell get together. When I come home from that, I will post chapter 8, but that won't be up until later tonight, probably sometime around midnight(Eastern US time here).

This chapter has some mythology in it; there are references to Nott, Freya, and Forseti. I checked my information at a couple different places and found that Nott is the goddess of night, Freya is the goddess of love, beauty, war, and a couple other things as well, while Forseti is the god of justice and order.

Once again, a big thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, **A Wild Clover **and **Cougar rolypoly bug**. I'm glad that Loki was relatable in this chapter; that was my goal. I have the rest of the plot points I want to hit planned out for their childhood and I started planning out some points for adolescence too. I actually got a little carried away last night while doing that because I started writing a scene during their adolescence that is very Loki, but I had to stop myself because I need to finish their childhood before I get there.

Here is chapter 6! I hope you all like it :)

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**Loki's POV**

I awoke the following morning feeling absolutely dreadful. My night's rest was not very effective in rejuvenating the condition of my eyes or head. I frowned; I must have cried more than I thought to cause such discomfort in my eyes and head. I knew I had expressed a lot of grief the night prior, but I did not expect an aftermath such as this. It was as if my weakness was following me, or was a part of me that I could not relinquish.

"What is this?" I asked aloud when I stood in front of a mirror and saw my face.

I had expected to be confronted with the task of trying to conceal the marks on my face from yesterday, but the marks were gone. I ran my finger over my face and only felt the smoothness of my skin, no ragged scars or dried blood. I was shocked at this discovery, but came to the conclusion that I was able to recover quickly from an attack or injury.

"At least now no one will point out the marks and I won't have to explain it to Aurora." I muttered as I began getting ready for the day.

I was afraid of what Aurora would say or what she would do if she found out about what happened. I figured that she would either find out on her own somehow, or I would tell her. I wanted it to be on my own terms though, not divulged by Fandral himself or revealed by the marks on my face. Thankfully, I could handle the matter at a later point in time.

For now, I felt too tired to prevent her from telling someone about Fandral or confronting him herself. She was bold like that; I had no doubts that she would do it and I didn't want to get her involved for fear that harm might come to her. Rubbing my eyes, I sighed heavily and found that I would have to endure the dull pain I felt in my eyes and head for today.

"_Hopefully no one will notice anything different about me."_ I thought to myself as I closed my door behind me and set out into the hall.

* * *

**Aurora POV**

You opened your eyes to discover your journal lying on top of your nightgown and realized that you must have fallen asleep last night while looking through it. The unanticipated dozing off actually did not bother you because you usually had trouble sleeping at night. Often, you would work in your journal or wander around the grounds. The rare occurrence that you fell asleep at a decent hour was a welcome change to your sleeping schedule. It seemed that the goddess Nott had some sort of personal vendetta against you, forbidding you from missing even a glimpse of her precious night. Groggily, you climbed out of bed and got ready for the day. After you deemed your morning appearance suitable enough, you ventured out of your quarters and to the dining hall for breakfast.

Upon your arrival, you saw Sif sitting at a table with Liv and another girl in your training class, Ingrid. You didn't mind Liv so much, but Ingrid got under your skin in the most unpleasant way. Ingrid thought she was entitled to everything just because she was the daughter of Freya and had inherited her mother's beauty. You had heard a great deal about the behavior of humans on Midgard and how it was not uncommon for those who were blessed with beauty to let it go to their heads and cause them to believe they were superior to others. It seemed that perhaps a mindset that had seemed so primitive was not completely abandoned in Asgard either. Ingrid was the prime example of using beauty as a pedestal to place oneself above others. As you took your plate of food and decided that you would sit next to Sif despite Ingrid' presence you bit your lip in annoyance. Not only was Ingrid beautiful, but she was also decent in combat too. She wasn't as good as Sif, but she was definitely second to her in the class. It wasn't fair you decided; Ingrid seemed to have it all and you had nothing to boast about while she made it a point to make everyone know how great she thought she was. Your parents had instructed you not to hate anyone or be jealous because it was primitive and foolish. You knew it was petty to harbor such feelings toward Ingrid, but you knew the feeling was mutual so it didn't bother you enough to not feel that way. Reflecting upon how you thought it was unfair for Ingrid to have so much, you remembered an encounter you had with the god of justice and order at an earlier point in time:

"_Forseti," you tugged on the older man's cloak, "can you help me?"_

_The god of justice looked down and smiled at you. "What is it, Lady Aurora?"_

_You giggled to yourself at the much older god calling you, a small child, 'lady'. You had gone looking for the god near the courts because you knew that he settled affairs in Asgard according to what was right or fair and you wanted him to settle a matter for you._

"_I know that you make things fair when they aren't fair and I wanted to know if you could help fix something for me?" you asked him, looking up at him pleadingly._

"_I will listen to what you have to say and I will see what I can do for you." The god replied to you._

_You inhaled and said, "I don't think it's fair that Ingrid is so pretty and so good at everything she does. She's never been mean to me, but I wish I could be like her and I'm not. It's not fair that we're not…" you struggled for the right word, "equal." _

_Forseti's eyes softened as he bent down to get closer to your level. "Aurora, while I am the god of justice, I think you've misunderstood what it is that I do."_

_You stared back at him confused, "But, you make things fair and this isn't fair!"_

_Forseti simply shook his head. "No, Aurora, it's not that simple. You see these courts?" He gestured to the area around the two of you._

_You nodded._

"_Well, this is where my work is done. I settle disputes, disagreements, crimes, affairs of that nature. The matter with which you are concerned, is not of the same type."Forseti said._

"_But I disagree with the fact that she and I aren't even close to being alike; that's a disagreement!" you smiled._

_Forseit laughed and shook his head again. "I'm sorry, but this is not something that I can change for you. I cannot change how we are created; I can only remedy situations between people that have gone wrong. I cannot change who they are as people. You may not see this now, but you are different from everyone else in some way, not just Ingrid. No one is exactly the same; that would make for a boring realm wouldn't it?"_

_You thought about his words for a minute. You had to agree that it would be a bit creepy if everyone looked the same, talked the same, or did all of the same things. _

"_I guess you're right." You sighed._

_Forseti gently placed a hand on your small shoulder and said, "Don't look so sad though, it is being different that makes everything worthwhile. You have to learn to live with people who are so different than yourself. You also need to learn to love yourself for who you are, not hate yourself for what you aren't. While you may not be Ingrid, that does not mean the two of you are unequal. You are worth as much to this realm as she is; and you know what else?"_

_After taking in all that Forseti had said you responded, "What else?"_

"_I know that you're going to do great things. You're going to do all of those great things as you, not anyone else." Forseti said softly._

_You felt yourself smiling. You gave the god a big hug and he laughed as he hugged you back. "You're pretty smart." You said to him._

_Forseti laughed again. "I've had a lot of time to become smart and a lot of practice at saying and doing what is the best at the time."_

"_Well, thank you for being smart and for being nice to me." You beamed at him. _

"_It was my pleasure. Now, I'm sorry, but I have a meeting I must attend to. Farwell, Lady Aurora." Forseti said as he stood up._

"_Farewell, Forseti!" you called out as you skipped down the hall and away from the courts feeling much better about yourself._

Coming out of your memory, you sighed. The younger you was much more at peace than you were currently. Forseti's words had stuck with you throughout the years, however, and it was actually those very words that encouraged you to pursue your own interests and dare to be different. Although, you had no choice anyway since Forseti was right in that nobody was exactly the same. You were doomed or blessed to be yourself forever, and you weren't quite sure whether that was a blessing or a curse yet.

Forseti would probably be disappointed in you if he knew that your feelings about Ingrid had gotten worse over the years. You couldn't blame him either; you knew what you were feeling was wrong, but you didn't care.

"_I guess I still have a lot to learn." _You thought to yourself as you approached the table.

"Good morning, Aurora!" Sif smiled at you upon seeing you.

"Good morning!" You said back as you took your seat next to her.

"Morning!" Liv also greeted you and you returned the greeting.

You could feel someone staring at you and as you turned, you saw that Ingrid was staring at you with her piercing blue eyes. You maintained eye contact for a few seconds before you felt you had to look away. Ingrid smiled innocently when you finally broke eye contact.

"You look like you slept well, Aurora." Ingrid said to you.

You fought the urge to bite your lip. It figures she would notice that you had gotten more "beauty rest" than usual.

"Yes, I did actually." You replied.

"Getting proper rest is very important you know. If you don't, there's no way you'll look as good as you could." Ingrid pressed.

"_Gods, she is so vain." _You thought to yourself.

"I'm not too concerned about any of that. I think I look fine as I am." You said firmly as you sliced a fig in half.

Ingrid's eyebrows lifted.

"_Oh, I must have said the wrong thing." _You thought to yourself bitterly as you placed half the fig in your mouth.

"If you don't, it will show and then how will anyone want to marry you?" Ingrid leaned forward as she asked you.

There it was again; the marriage talk. You understood that as girls, it was a popular topic and hard to avoid because all girls wanted to grow up and get married to a good husband. You didn't understand why all the girls wanted to talk about it so much, you were all still so young and marriage was so far on the horizon that you couldn't even begin to really think that hard about it. It wasn't that you didn't want to get married; you just wanted to do so much more first. You wanted to travel and do something on your own before being tied to a husband. You wanted to experience the other realms, even ones that were considered dangerous. You wanted to depict scenes from the other realms in your sketches because frankly, you had already sketched a fair amount of Asgard and you wanted to see something new.

For now though, you had to respond to Ingrid so you said, "Look, none of us are getting married anytime soon and even if we were, there is so much more to a person that just looking nice."

Ingrid seemed to think that your statement was blasphemous because she shook her head furiously, "Aurora, you're so wrong there! Your appearance is the first thing someone notices about you before they even know your personality. If they can't even get past your looks, how will they know what you're like inside? You have to look pretty enough for them to bother with you."

Sif shifted uncomfortably in her seat and you knew that she could tell where this was going. You wouldn't admit it, but there was some truth to what Ingrid said. Especially on Midgard you had heard that some humans wouldn't give another the time of day if they didn't think they were attractive enough. Who was to say that maybe the same wasn't true on Asgard? You hadn't seen enough of the realm yet in your life to have evidence that Ingrid was right or wrong so you just had to focus strictly on what you believed.

"Not everyone is the same, Ingrid. Sure, maybe some people are like that, they won't look at you twice let alone bother to talk to you if they don't think you're pretty enough, but not everyone is so vain. You can miss out on a lot of great people if you live your life that way and honestly, I feel sad for the people that do choose to live like that." You said as you folded your arms.

Liv looked stunned at your response and Sif had a faint smile on her lips which you took as a sign that she had agreed with what you said.

Ingrid, however, seemed to miss the point of everything you had just said. "Aurora, I'm not saying that you aren't pretty, if I didn't think you looked at least half decent I wouldn't talk to you at all and look," Ingrid spread her arms out, "I'm talking to you now aren't I?"

What Ingrid had said angered you. It angered you almost as much as it would if she called you ugly, but, apparently she would never even bother to tell you that in the first place.

"Gods, Ingrid," you sighed in frustration, "you completely missed the point of what I just said."

"Then what was it? Surely you wanted to know if I was saying that specifically about you?" Ingrid asked.

"No, Ingrid. I'm telling you that you might consider changing your lifestyle." You said with your arms still crossed.

Ingrid looked taken aback. "Me?"

You nodded, "Yes, you."

"Umm, Aurora…" Sif whispered in your ear, "I don't think this is a good idea."

You ignored Sif's warning and continued, "You think you're better than everyone else and that's not right. You aren't better than everyone else so stop acting so high and mighty."

Just as Ingrid was about to respond, a different voice spoke, "Someone said 'mighty'. Surely you were calling for me?"

You turned around and behind you stood Thor with Loki. Everyone but you laughed and you had to fight off a small smile at Thor's healthy ego.

"Good timing Thor." Ingrid smiled at him, completely ignoring Loki.

Thor smiled back, "Care if we join you, friends?"

"Not at all!" Ingrid answered a little too quickly.

"Much thanks!" Thor said as he sat on the other side of Sif, much to the disappointment of Ingrid.

Loki silently walked over to your side and took his place next to you. He seemed quieter than usual. Typically, when Loki saw you, he would greet you with a smile, but this morning he did no such thing.

"Is something wrong?" you asked him quietly.

Loki shook his head.

"Then how come you aren't talking?" you asked him.

Loki sighed, "I'm just feeling a bit tired today, that is all."

"Oh," you said, "I know the feeling. Would you believe I actually fell asleep early last night?" you asked him.

Loki turned to face you now. "Did you now?"

Loki knew all about your sleeping problems so this was as much news to him as it was to you.

You nodded, "I fell asleep while looking through my journal last night. It was nice to fall asleep at a decent hour for once…"

Loki cracked a small smile. "I'm pleased that the night bid you well this time, Aurora."

"Me too." You laughed.

"So, Thor," you heard Ingrid drawl, "you were really great at training yesterday."

"You have my thanks, Lady Ingrid, but the one who was really great yesterday was my brother." Thor said in between mouthfuls of food.

Ingrid frowned as Loki looked uncomfortable.

"Ah yes, your brother did better than usual yesterday." Ingrid said without so much as a glance at Loki.

"Yes," you chimed in, "Loki did so well yesterday, but he always does!"

"Thank you, everyone." Loki said quietly.

"You deserve the recognition, brother. Cheers!" Thor said loudly as he raised his cup.

Everyone else followed suit, Ingrid and Loki less enthusiastically. Loki could tell that Ingrid was not too fond of him, but the feeling was mutual.

"Good morning, children! So nice to see all of you enjoying this fine morning together!" Queen Frigga said as she approached the table.

"Good morning Queen Frigga!" you all said brightly.

It was not often that one saw the king or queen around the palace; to see one or both of them was truly an honor and you were expected to be on your best behavior.

The queen smiled at all of you. "Thor dear, please mind the amount of food you put in your mouth."

Thor blushed slightly, "My apologies, mother."

Frigga smiled kindly at her son.

Ingrid spoke up next, "To what honor do we have the pleasure of seeing you this morning, my queen?"

Frigga smiled at Ingrid, "I'm actually here on behalf of King Odin. Thor and Loki, your father requests your presence as soon as you are done here."

"Yes, mother! We will meet father swiftly!" Thor announced and then said, "Loki taught me that word!"

Queen Frigga smiled over at Loki, "That was nice of you to enlighten your brother, Loki."

"Thank you, mother." Loki smiled at her.

Queen Frigga addressed all of you now, "I will let you all be now, farewell children."

"Farewell Queen Frigga!" you all responded.

"I hope I can be a great queen like Frigga one day." Ingrid said hopefully.

"Well, the only way you can do that is if you marry whoever the next king will be." Liv said.

"I know." Ingrid said as she smiled at Thor.

Thor, however, seemed unaware of what was going on since he was far too interested in his food to notice Ingrid smiling at him.

"Brother," he spoke, "We must be quick so that we can go see father."

"Indeed we shall, brother. I am merely waiting until you are ready to depart." Loki spoke.

"Then let us go! Farewell ladies!" Thor said as he stood up.

Loki followed suit and said his goodbyes as well before the two brothers disappeared from sight.

Ingrid sighed heavily, "I'm going to marry Thor one day I tell you."

"You're not the only girl who feels that way, Ingrid, I assure you." Sif said firmly.

"Yes, I want to marry Thor too!" Liv perked up.

Ingrid laughed, "Sorry Liv, and to any other girl who wishes to marry Thor, but he is mine!"

You rolled your eyes, "You can't just claim a person."

"Sure I can! I want him and I'm going to have him one day!" Ingrid exclaimed.

"Good luck with that." You mumbled.

"Yes, well, I'm off to make myself look better so that I can find Thor later. Farewell!" Ingrid waved as she ran off.

"Good riddance." You mumbled under your breath as you, Sif, and Liv stayed for the remainder of breakfast.

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A/N: So that is chapter 6! I wanted to have Aurora interact with some other characters a little to establish a little bit of how she differs from them. Poor Loki, she did notice something was off about him! Don't worry- Aurora will find out about what happened to Loki in a future chapter! Leave reviews, they're the best! :)


	7. Chapter 7 (Childhood)

Hello all! In this chapter I'm addressing the scene that is shown at the beginning of the movie "Thor" where Odin talks to young Loki and Thor about the Casket of Ancient Winters and the war with the Jotuns.

Thank you again to my lovely reviewers, I always love reading what you guys leave :) **A Wild Clover**- your review made me laugh so hard, shallow fishy was such a great phrase! I'm sorry that you experience not being able to sleep also. I usually do not fall asleep until anywhere between 6-8am- it is quite annoying.

**Cougar roly-poly bug**- I'm glad that my character is relatable, it means a lot! I really like to try and make characters relatable and avoid any Mary Sues which can be hard at times.

**Mougann**- Wow! Your review really made me smile :) I have a little fangirl attack when I see such lovely reviews myself! I'm touched that you love this story and my writing so much, thank you!

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**Loki's POV**

"What do you think father wants to speak to us about, brother?" Thor inquired.

"I do not know, brother. All will be revealed once we reach him." I replied, silently worrying about what father possibly could have wanted to speak to us about.

I was afraid that perhaps Odin had found out about my prior encounters with Fandral. I did not wish to speak about what was going on, nor did I want Thor to know. Even though Fandral had singled me out as someone to mock, I did not want anyone else to become involved in the matter; I would settle the affair myself. Involving father would just make everything worse and Fandral would think of me as weaker than he already does. Fandral would think that I had sought out my father's help to ward off Fandral, but I did no such thing and I would not go to father about any of it. As Thor and I walked to meet father I was growing increasingly anxious. I worried that father would talk about Fandral and express anger toward Thor for not noticing or not attempting to stop it, but I am quite sure that Thor knows nothing of Fandral's malice toward me. If he had, I am certain Thor would do something on my behalf. Thor is a good brother in that regard; he supports me.

"It is time to find out then!" Thor exclaimed as we stood in front of the large golden doors.

The golden doors opened before us and I gingerly walked in beside Thor who displayed no apprehension at all. I, however, was very nervous.

"Greetings, my sons." Father spoke as he walked towards us.

"Hello father!" Thor said loudly.

I winced at the sound of Thor's voice because I was in such close proximity to him and the volume of his voice was not pleasant to my ears. It was difficult enough to try to ignore the pounding in my ears from my own rapidly beating heart. I needed to learn to control my nerves.

"Father." I said as I bowed my head in respect.

"My sons, I wish to show you something in this room and tell you of what happened many years ago in a country on Midgard." Father spoke.

I lifted my head at his words and breathed a small sigh of relief; I was relieved to find out that father was not going to mention anything about Fandral. My earlier nervousness was replaced by excitement because history interested me, even when it concerned realms other than Asgard. I loved to learn new information. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Thor, however, looked rather bored.

"Follow me as I tell you this information that intertwines our past with that of Midgard." Father said as he began walking down the vault.

Thor and I followed him as he continued, "I am going to tell you about the war between Asgard and Jotunheim that took place a long time ago. From the realm of cold and darkness came the Frost Giants. They planned to utilize the Casket of Ancient Winters, a powerful weapon supplied by unlimited magical energy, to conquer all of the realms, starting with Midgard. Humanity would not face the threat alone because we at Asgard found it our duty to maintain peace and harmony among each of the nine realms. If any realm tried to disrupt that peace, we would act accordingly."

I listened intently to father speak and immediately disliked the Frost Giants because they had invaded another realm, inciting a war and trying to take over something that wasn't theirs. It all seemed rather uncalled for, to me.

Father continued his story by saying, "Upon our arrival, a battle ensued against King Laufey and the Frost Giants. Our warriors fought valiantly, but not everyone lived to tell the tale. Despite the bloodshed, however, our armies drove the Frost Giants back to Jotunheim after their king had fallen in battle, but I chose to spare his life. The casket was taken from them and we returned home. Here we remain as a beacon of hope shining out across the stars that peace among the nine realms might be possible to exist."

By now, we had reached the end of the walkway and father, Thor, and I stood in front of the casket. Father departed from our side while my eyes, as well as Thor's, remained transfixed on the swirling blue cube shaped object. It looked like arctic wind was actually moving around inside of it.

"But the day will come," Father's voice reached my ears, "When one of you will have to defend that peace."

"Do the Frost Giants still live?" I asked.

Thor glanced over at me and smiled brightly. "When I'm king," he began as he placed his hand on his chest, "I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all!"

Thor completed his statement by swinging his arms back and forth while I simply stared back at him. Thor's arrogance was truly unrivaled, except for Fandral's perhaps.

Father did not seem amused or angered by Thor's display. Instead, father said to us, "A wise king never seeks out war, but, he must always be ready for it."

Father walked past the casket and back toward where we came. Thor looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back at him as we turned and ran after our father.

As we reached him, we both grabbed one of his hands and Thor spoke out, "I'm ready, father!"

Desperate to be heard as well even though I wasn't entirely sure I was ready, I said, "So am I!"

It looked as if Thor had lowered his gaze to meet my eyes for a brief moment before looking back up at father. Perhaps I was mistaken, it was so quick that maybe I had imagined it, but Thor did not look too pleased at my words.

"Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings." Father said as we exited the vault.

"It is to be me!" Thor called out.

"Do not make such statements yet, Thor. It will be a long time before one of you is chosen as my successor. It would be in both of your best interests not to dwell on what is to come, but to focus on yourselves just as you are now." Father said firmly.

I nodded, happy with father's answer because I did not want to argue with Thor over which of us was to be king when it was so far away. Thor is so concerned about the future whereas I try not to stress so much about what might happen in the future since I have no way of knowing exactly what will happen.

We parted ways with father and went to go find our friends so we could tell them what father had just told us. Although, I anticipated that Thor would be doing most of the talking.

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**Aurora's POV**

It was past midday when you were wandering through the palace wishing you had Loki with you to talk to since you were feeling quite bored. Loki always had interesting things to say and the two of you could talk for hours on end.

"Lady Aurora is that you!?" you heard a voice call out, recognizing it to belong to Thor.

You turned around as you replied, "Why yes, Thor, it is I."

Thor was positively beaming and even Loki looked a little brighter than he had as of late.

"We spoke with father." Loki said to you as the three of you approached each other.

"You did? How did it go?" you asked.

"It went well, he-" Loki began, but was cut off by Thor.

"Father showed us this interesting cube object and he talked to us about war and Frost Giants and becoming king! He said only one of us can become king. I hope I do…sorry brother." Thor said enthusiastically and then apologized to Loki.

Loki rolled his eyes. "It was called the Casket of Ancient Winters, brother."

Thor furrowed his eyebrows. "Winter is ancient?"

You snickered into your palm as Loki continued, "Well yes, Thor. Do you recall winter never existing in your lifetime?"

Thor looked confused. "No…I always remember there being cold and snow at some points."

"Right, and winter has existed for a long time even before we were born, before mother and father were born, and before others too. It is ancient." Loki said.

"I thought only people could be ancient." Thor responded.

You shook your head. "Not just people, Thor."

"Oh. Well then, I see how the er, what is it again?" Thor looked to Loki for an answer.

"Casket." Loki answered.

"Yes! The casket…it makes sense that it is ancient then. It certainly looked old." Thor said as the three of you began walking down the hall.

Loki gave you a frustrated look which only made you laugh.

"_It is not humorous." _Loki said to you telepathically.

"_I beg to differ."_ you thought in your mind.

Loki titled his head to the side as he stared at you, his eyes bright and searching. "_You always do."_

You cracked a smile at him and thought, "_I may be different from everyone else, but you and I aren't so different when you think about it._"

Loki smiled back at you; a genuine smile that made his skin crinkle slightly at the corners of his eyes. "_You are correct in that we are no so dissimilar. I am thankful for that._"

"The two of you are awfully quiet. Is something the matter?" Thor asked, breaking your silent conversation with Loki.

The two of you jolted slightly, but Loki was quick to respond, "We are not quiet, brother. It has merely been less than a minute since we last said something; why does a moment of silence bother you so much?"

Thor shrugged. "I just enjoy talking is all."

"There is nothing wrong with that, Thor. We do too." You said as you placed a hand on his shoulder.

Thor smiled down at you. "Then let us go find the rest of our friends. I wish to tell everyone about the conversation Loki and I had with father."

"The last time I saw everyone they were in the courtyard." You answered.

"Let us go to the courtyard then!" Thor exclaimed as he grabbed one of your hands as well as one of Loki's hands and pulled you both with him.

"I fear that we do not have much of a choice otherwise." Loki said as Thor hurried you both along.

You laughed at Loki's observation. "I couldn't agree more, Loki."

"It will be fun! You should always choose what is fun to do and I'm saving you both from having to choose! Besides, brother, I think that you would choose to go back to your room and study those books of yours. I do not understand why you study so much." Thor said loudly and ending his words on a note of confusion.

"Reading those books is fun to me, Thor and as you just said, one should always choose to do what they enjoy, therefore, I abide by your belief statement when I choose to read my books." Loki said without so much as a second thought.

"There's the lovely and smooth speech of Silvertongue again." You laughed.

Thor looked at both you and Loki before saying, "Sometimes I don't understand what either of you are saying. Loki, I don't know what abide means, but if reading is fun for you, then keep reading!"

"Oh I will. Do not worry, brother." Loki smiled as Thor released you both from his grip because the three of you had arrived in the courtyard.

As Thor walked over to Sif, the Warriors Three, Ingrid, Liv, and another boy from your training classes, you glanced at Loki once more. You sensed something different not in the tone with which Loki spoke, but the way he smiled and the way his eyes looked as he spoke to his brother. Loki's green eyes glinted in the sunlight and concealed something deep within their emerald depths. You couldn't quite place it, but his enigmatic smile proved to be a little easier to decipher. The way Loki's lip curled up over his brilliantly white teeth on the left side of his mouth paired with the glint in his eyes, hinted at mischief. You didn't think too much of it or know it then that the mischievous look Loki had right now would soon become a new trademark for him.


	8. Chapter 8 (Childhood)

Hello everyone! Thank you again to **A Wild Clover**- Thanks for pointing out those typing errors; I hate mistakes like that so I'll definitely go back and fix them. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I've read a few fanfictions where Loki is still portrayed as weak even when he's an adult and that just doesn't make sense to me since we see in the movies that he is clearly not weak at all. Loki definitely grows up in this story to be as tall/strong as he is in the movies so no worries there :)

**Cougar roly-poly bug**- Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! :) I knew when I started this story and decided to begin with their childhood that I definitely wanted to include that movie scene it. Thank you for mentioning that!

When I finished this chapter, it was originally over 4,000 words so I found a nice place in the chapter to cut it off and take it down to a little over 2,000 words for this chapter. The next chapter is a direct continuation of this one as they were originally combined into one long chapter. So, I feel it's only fair that I double post tonight. Chapter 9 will be up shortly after this one!

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"Wow, that is quite interesting what King Odin shared with both of you!" you said once Thor had finished telling the story.

Loki had recounted part of the story as well, interjecting when Thor got the facts wrong from the tale of the war or providing the facts when Thor asked for clarification.

"Do you think we will ever have to face the Frost Giants again?" Sif asked.

"It is likely that since they have committed an act of war before that they will do it again." Loki answered.

"It will be of no matter because if they do I will slay them all!" Thor roared.

"I know you definitely could." Ingrid added as she leaned closer to Thor.

Thor smiled at her, "Thank you for the confidence you have in me, Lady Ingrid."

"My pleasure, Thor." Ingrid said with a smile.

"Surely you would not face them alone, would you?" Sif asked, eyeing Ingrid.

Thor shook his head. "No, I would want to fight with my friends. There is no greater place to be with your friends than on the battlefield."

The Warriors Three raised their hands in the air and yelled, "Agreed!"

Thor patted them on the back and laughed. "Someday my friends, we will fight in many glorious battles and be victorious!"

"It is unlikely that I will be taking part in such events." You spoke with a chuckle.

"Why is that? Even Loki here will fight in battle one day." Thor said turning toward you.

Loki looked unfazed by Thor's use of the word "even" when referring to him fighting in battle. He had probably expected it in some form.

"You know that I'm not very good in combat. I'm okay with a sword, but not great." You said shyly.

You felt insecure about your lack of proficiency in combat compared to the others who really embodied the Asgardian lifestyle of excelling in combat. Loki was the only one who didn't exactly fit the mold, but even he was becoming more adept at fighting as he grew older.

"Do not doubt yourself, Lady Aurora. Women are not expected to be great warriors, but I think any woman could become one if she wanted to be." Thor said which earned a smile from Sif.

"I think I should like to become one." Sif said which earned a glare from Ingrid who no doubt disapproved.

"Should you want to become one, I shall support you." Thor said earnestly earning a thank you from Sif.

Loki turned to you and spoke next, "You need not worry. Just focus on the weapon you are best at, the sword, and harness your skills with that weapon. I also believe that you have not yet found your niche. When you find it, you will become great at it and you will see that you can perform much better in combat than you think you can."

"You really think so?" you asked him.

Loki smiled at you and nodded, "I do not think so. I know so."

"Thank you, Loki." You said as you hugged him in front of everyone.

Loki hugged you back and whispered in your ear, "You're very welcome."

"That was rather kind of you, Loki." Liv spoke up.

"It is the truth." Loki replied.

"I think so too," the other boy, named Ivar spoke, "I'm only really good with a bow. I'm not much good with anything else."

Loki smiled and gestured toward Ivar with his left hand as if to prove his point.

A scoff came from Ingrid's direction as she said, "Well, I'm not bad at anything, but I have no interest in fighting so what about me?"

"After training ends you'll do what most of the women do. You won't be fighting any longer unless you wanted to." Ivar said to her.

You realized that this was probably the first time Ingrid had ever felt out of place, like she didn't quite belong. For the first time, you felt more comfortable in a group than she did. You hoped that you would get to witness it again one day.

"I'm not just like all the other women though." Ingrid huffed.

"That you aren't." Fandral said as he winked at her.

Volstagg punched Fandral in the arm as you just rolled your eyes. It was typical of Fandral to flirt with girls. You were just glad he had appeared to have given up on you after the day he had been tricked by Loki.

Ingrid smiled at Fandral and flipped her long, silvery blonde hair over her shoulder. You noticed that Hogun and Loki looked moderately uncomfortable and Sif did not appear to be amused. Thor and Volstagg were grinning, however. Ivar and Liv were both staring at their feet.

Desperate to break the awkward silence that was pervading the air, you asked, "We have training relatively soon, do we not?"

"Indeed! That we do, Lady Aurora. Perhaps we should make our way over to the arena so that we are not late. Vali would not take too kindly to our tardiness." Thor announced as he stood up.

Everyone else followed suit arriving at the arena moments before Vali did and some other people in the class.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Today, I have something special planned for you all." Vali greeted the class.

You groaned. "I don't like the sound of 'special'."

Loki chuckled. "Special is often a synonym for 'difficult' which means that I would have to agree with you on not liking where this is most likely going."

"Today, I have planned to divide you each into groups and send you on a mock mission. It is important for me to emphasize that this mission is not real and will not put you in any actual danger. It is merely a simulation or practice run, if you will, of what it will be like when you leave training for actual battle." Vali elaborated.

You sighed and looked lazily at Loki. "Difficult indeed."

Loki offered you a smile and squeezed your hand in encouragement.

You turned your attention back to Vali as Loki glanced over at Fandral who was eyeing him as well. You noticed this and were not oblivious to the tension between them. You hoped for Loki's sake that they were not on the same team.

"Since there are fifteen of you here, I will divide you each into groups of five. I have already chosen your team so I do not want to hear any complaints; it is fixed." Vali said firmly pointing a finger at the cluster of us on the benches.

We nodded our understanding and Vali announced the teams.

"Group one is Liv, Agmund, Canute, Kari, and Gunner. All of you please stand to the left." Vali said gesturing to where he wanted them to go.

You didn't know how this mission was going to work, if the winning team was rewarded and the losing teams punished, or if only the last place team was punished, if it was even a competition at all. Liv wasn't a great addition to her team; she was competent but possessed no extraordinary skills. Agmund was the best swordsman in the class so he certainly posed a threat. Canute was very good at setting traps so he could also prove to be a problem. Kari was very timid and excelled at making herself difficult to find. You weren't sure how that would play out in the mission. Gunner was a brawny kid which made him pretty intimidating.

"Next is group two." Vali spoke.

You glanced at who was remaining. You hoped that you were not on a team with Fandral or Ingrid. You also hoped that you were on a team with Loki.

"Group two is made up of Ivar, Aurora…" Vali began as you smiled at Ivar- you liked him well enough to be happy to have him on your team.

"Ingrid…" Vali said which immediately caused your smile to fade.

"Ragnvald, and Loki. Group two please stand in the middle here." Vali gestured to the place in the arena next to where group one was standing in the dirt.

"At least we're in the same group." Loki said to you as the both of you made your way over to stand with the rest of your group.

"Thank the gods for that. I don't know how I'm going to tolerate having Ingrid on our team. I know that sounds really mean, but honestly, you know how she irritates me." You said.

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment. "At least she isn't useless though."

You sighed. "I guess you're right. She is actually good whereas I'm the most useless person on this team."

"Hey," Loki turned to you fixing his gaze on you, "don't say that about yourself. You aren't useless and even if everyone else thinks you are, which they don't because I checked, you're the most important person to me in this group."

You smiled at Loki before looking at him confused. "What do you mean you checked?"

Loki simply tapped his temple twice and smiled.

"Loki!" You exclaimed as you lightly pushed him in jest.

Loki laughed and stumbled slightly. "I couldn't resist!"

"Well, you better start learning how to resist the urge to peek into people's minds. One of these days you aren't going to like what you find!" you warned.

Loki shrugged. "Perhaps, but I think I'll manage."

You shook your head as Vali didn't bother to list the names of those remaining, he just instructed them to congregate to the right of your team. You had to admit that the team of Thor, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun looked pretty unfair. Yet, since Vali made it clear that he wanted no objections about the teams, you kept your mouth shut.

"I'm sure that you are all wondering what sort of mission this will be," Vali began, "and I will tell you now that it involves you all going into the forest here."

"Into the forest?" Ingrid scrunched her nose.

"Yes, is there a problem with that, Lady Ingrid?" Vali asked.

"Well, yes, it's dark and creepy in there. Plus, there are all kinds of nasty creatures in there." Ingrid said with a whiny tinge in her voice.

"Firstly, it is only the afternoon so it will not be too dark in there. Secondly, while the creatures would certainly not take kindly to being called nasty, none of them will hurt you." Vali said.

"How do you know they won't hurt us though?" Ingrid asked, obviously not convinced.

Vali sighed. "The creatures will not hurt you because I have specifically spoken to Heimdall about this mock mission and asked him to pay extra close attention to what is going on during it. If he sees anyone is in immediate danger, he will handle the matter."

"If you say so." Ingrid rolled her eyes.

Vali opened his mouth to chastise her for her poor manners, but decided he didn't have the energy to bicker with an overly confident daughter of Freya. Instead he continued talking about what the mission entailed, "Each group will have a base to convene in and discuss strategy. It is up to your team to be mindful of other teams that might be spying on you in an attempt to discover your plans. Your bases will be less than a half mile from the entrance to the forest. The goal of this is mission is to navigate through the forest using your skills and a map to reach the forest's center. There, you will find a clue that will tell you where you must go to the find the object I have sent you out to find. You will know what it is when you see it for it does not normally exist in a forest."

"That sounds confusing." Thor said with a frown.

"Do not worry Thor, we will find whatever it is and win!" Volstagg said as he patted his friend on the back.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Volstagg!" Gunner spoke.

"No, my group is going to win because I want to get out of the forest as quickly as possible so we're going to find it first!" Ingrid added.

"Healthy competition, this is good!" Vali laughed.

"Healthy?" you asked leaning toward Loki's ear, "I feel sick."

Loki laughed and said back to you, "Try to quell your nerves. All will be alright."

"I hope so." You muttered nervously.

"It will be." Loki said as Vali handed a member from each group a map.

"If it's not, I blame you." You glared at Loki in mock seriousness as you clutched the map Vali had handed you.

"Oooh, I'm positively frightened at the prospect of what you might do to me." Loki said as he put his hands up.

"Shut up." You laughed as you lightly pushed him.

"Okay everyone, let's start walking toward the entrance to the forest." Vali said as you all began the walk to where the mock mission would take place.


	9. Chapter 9 (Childhood)

This is chapter 9, posted right after chapter 8 as promised! There is a little bit of Loki revenge in this chapter! As always, Review/Favorite/Follow!

* * *

All of you stood at the entrance to the forest with your groups peering into the wooded area, trying your best to see as far as you could. Glancing at each person in your team, you figured that your team was probably going to lose when compared to the other two teams. Ivar had his bow slung on his back and looked ready to go, but Ingrid cancelled his preparedness out because she just looked bored and annoyed. Ragnvald was a strategist and you had given the map to him to look over. You knew how anxious you felt, and glancing over at Loki who looked about as unreadable as ever, you decided to only focus on getting in and out of the forest in one piece and not on the probability of emerging as the winner. You were sure that the other teams, Thor's in particular, would refuse to come out of the forest as anything but the top team.

"Stand at the ready everyone, I will count down from three and then you will go into the forest and plan to do this however you wish. I should mention that you won't be judged based only on who wins, but I will be monitoring you all to see how you each perform. Once the winning team has found the object, you will hear a horn and that will be your signal to return to this spot. Remember that I said no real harm will come to you, but that doesn't mean you won't have to fend off some of the creatures. Is that clear?" Vali asked as he finished giving the full explanation.

Everyone nodded in confirmation as Vali began the countdown, "Best of luck to you all then. Three, two, one, go!" Vali yelled as everyone immediately broke into a run.

You hated running at full speed for a prolonged period of time, but you kept up with the rest of your team as you reached the base. The other two bases were not very far away, but they were not within earshot. Once you all entered the base you all sat down to catch your breath for a few moments as Ragnvald took out the map and smoothed it out on the small wooden table that was present.

"Okay, so Vali said the object we have to locate is in the center of the forest. That's quite a bit of a trek from here, and while it is in the center of the forest, that doesn't mean it has to be in the dead center, so we should branch out some once we reach the center. I think we should make our way there as a group though, since we only have one map and we're stronger together rather than separated." Ragnvald said looking up at everyone from the map.

You nodded in agreement with Ragnvald because you particularly liked the idea of remaining as a group for the duration of the mission.

Ragnvald then continued, "When we reach the center of the forest where the lake is, then we'll divide up and look around the area trying to find whatever this object may be. Since we don't know exactly what we're looking for, keep in mind that Vali said it's something that looks out of place in a forest. Hopefully we won't have to fend off any of the other teams, but if we do, don't hold back. We want to win this, but so do they so keep in mind that they'll do whatever it takes to win."

"Could I just sit this one out, Ragnvald? I can just stay here in the base and-"

"No, Ingrid! We need you as part of this team. We'd really be at a disadvantage if we were one person short." Ragnvald cut her off.

Ingrid sighed in frustration, "Fine, but this better be over quick."

Ragnvald ignored her comment as he looked around the base, "Does anyone have any questions?"

We all shook our heads as he picked up the map and got on his feet, "Let's start moving then."

As your group made their way out of the base you could see the shadows of the other teams shifting in their bases which meant that your group had finished discussing the strategy for the mission first because of Ragnvald's excellent planning skills. If nothing else, at least your team would have a head start.

* * *

Your team had made it halfway through the forest without any major problems. A few creatures had emerged from the shadows, but they were usually eradicated fairly quickly. Even you had succeeded in killing a few of them with your sword. After you had taken one down that had lunged at you, leaving a scratch on your arm, Loki put away the dagger he had been wielding and congratulated you, "Great job, Aurora! I told you that you were not useless here."

You smiled at Loki as you caught your breath and replied, "Thank you, Loki. I just hope I don't have to do that again."

"We shall see." Loki chuckled as he pulled you along with him to catch up with the rest of the group.

Ragnvald was at the front of the group calling out directions as everyone else followed him, constantly looking around for creatures or other teams. Ragnvald also held a weapon incase he needed to use it. Ivar kept him bow strung, looking around for any target that he needed to shoot. Ingrid walked alongside him, clutching a long golden staff. You and Loki brought up the rear as you kept your sword drawn and Loki simply walked with his hands in his pockets as if he didn't have a care in all the nine realms.

You found this odd and were about to ask Loki why he didn't have a weapon ready when your thoughts were interrupted by Ingrid's petulant voice whining, "There are blood, dirt, and grime all over me! This is absolutely disgusting! If I ever run into another dreaded beast in here, I might just scream because I don't think I can handle getting any dirtier in here."

"Relax, Ingrid." Ragnvald said gruffly.

"Relax?" Ingrid asked wide-eyed as she stopped in her tracks. "How can you expect me to relax when I'm stuck in the woods with you lot and I am covered in dirt?"

Ragnvald turned around to see Ingrid staring at him with her hands out at her sides gesturing to her mud-caked skin and the blood from a slain creature on her clothing.

"It'll wash off. Now, c'mon, we don't have time to waste. The longer you stand still the more likely you are to be attacked anyway." Ragnvald said as he turned around to continue walking.

As if on cue, a creature jumped out of a nearby tree and went straight for Ingrid. Ingrid did just as she said she would; she stood there and screamed. Ivar reacted quickly by drawing his bow and shooting an arrow at the rodent-like creature.

"It's dead, now start moving." Ivar said roughly as he followed Ragnvald with Ingrid quickly doing the same.

"Is it wrong that I found that slightly humorous?" you turned to Loki with a small grin on your face.

"Not at all." Loki shook his head with a small smile as well.

A few moments later, you came to a clearing in the forest and saw water shimmering in the distance from sunlight that broke through the clouds. It was the brightest scene you had seen so far in the woods and you were thankful for the brighter atmosphere. You assumed that this was the center of the forest.

"Everyone split up! This is where we need to start looking everywhere for the object. We'll cover more ground if we each look somewhere different. I suspect that the other teams will be arriving soon or are already searching, so if they look like they're onto something, don't hesitate to play dirty and try to meddle in whatever they're doing." Ragnvald instructed.

With that, everyone split up and started scouring the perimeter for the unknown object. Sure enough, you saw the Warriors Three was overturning some boulders together in the direction you were headed. You decided to change your course in order to avoid Fandral. Finally, you decided to climb up a tree and survey the area. Perched atop the tree you had chosen, you saw that the Warriors Three had not found what they were looking for and that Sif had just brushed past Ingrid. Thor was walking to the left of the lake by himself and Liv had apparently given up because she was sitting at the water's edge with her feet in the lake. Loki was standing in the clearing talking to Ivar when he pointed in the direction of the Warriors Three who were standing in front of a tree. The next thing you saw was Ivar shooting somewhere into the tree causing a beehive to fall to the ground in front of the Warriors Three. Hogun and Volstagg had immediately run away, but were still followed by the bees as they frantically ran around swatting the air. You steadied yourself in your tree as you laughed at the scene. Fandral was the last to react and therefore, was the easiest target for the angry swarm. Fandral, however, was not stupid, and decided to run into the lake plunging himself under the water to evade the swarm. Loki walked away from Ivar who continued to search the grounds and discreetly positioned himself near the side of the lake that Fandral was in, on the opposite side of where Liv was sitting.

* * *

**Loki's POV **

I decided to enlist the help of Ivar when I saw that the Warriors Three had unknowingly perfectly positioned themselves under a hive of bees. Ivar was all too happy to shoot the hive down when I pointed it out to him because it would distract the three of them from the mission. It was not until after Ivar had struck down the hive that I remembered Vali and Heimdall could see everything we were doing. Ivar shooting down the hive would undoubtedly look sneaky and could be considered as foul play, but it was strategy after all, was it not? I decided, however, that for what I was going to do next that I would ensure that Vali and Heimdall could not know this was my doing.

I had quietly walked over to where Fandral had jumped into the lake and hid myself behind a large rock. Peering out from behind it, I saw that Fandral had resurfaced and that the bees were gone. Fandral smoothed his hair over on his head and sighed heavily. Glancing around, I saw that no one seemed to be paying attention to him. I smiled at my luck and planning. I had used my magic to conjure a double at the same time and in the same place that I had been standing when I decided to conceal myself from the watchful eyes of Heimdall and Vali as well. My double was taking part in the search effort while the real me carefully watched Fandral. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to play a prank on Fandral, a little bit of payback for what he had done to me.

"This is for earlier." I hissed as I flicked my wrist to the side and sent a huge snake straight for Fandral.

The snake wrapped itself around Fandral bringing him down to his knees in the water. I could see Fandral writhing in the snake's vice grip as he tried to break free. The snake was hissing as Fandral was trying to find enough air in his lungs to yell. I smiled darkly from my hiding place at Fandral's display of fear. I wanted to see Fandral struggle for once and to feel as helpless as I did. There was no way that Fandral would be able to escape on his own, but I wouldn't let the snake kill him. I still had morals. I just wanted to watch him squirm for a little while.

My entertainment was cut short, however, because Hogun had spotted Fandral's predicament and sliced the snake off him with his mace. Fandral collapsed in the water gasping for breath which only caused water to enter his mouth, making him gag and spit it out. I had to laugh at Fandral's blunder in deciding to breathe while his mouth was under the water. Hogun lifted Fandral up to support him and dragged him out to the lake's edge.

"I don-n-n't li-i-ike sna-a-akes." Fandral sputtered.

"Understandable." Hogun said as he eyed Fandral curiously.

"I thin-n-k I shoul-l-d jus-s-t sta-a-ay her-r-e." Fandral choked out.

"Let me at least bring you to the other side of the lake where you'll at least be in clearer sight."Hogun said as he wrapped Fandral's arm over his shoulder and carried him around the side of the lake.

I ducked behind the rock when they passed by me because if they saw me, surely they would be suspicious that I had done something, which I had of course, but I still didn't want to get caught. I decided to direct my double to an unpopulated area in the area of the forest we were in to relinquish him and emerge by myself. It was only then that I noticed no one had been successful in finding the object yet, but I had seen everyone look almost everywhere…everywhere but the bottom of the lake.

I walked to the edge of the lake again and peered out. I could barely make out something shimmering at the bottom of the lake. My eyes widened as I realized that whatever was shining from the bottom of the lake must be the object.

"_Lucky me_." I thought to myself as I dove into the lake.

* * *

**Aurora's POV**

"It looks like Loki's found something!" I yelled from my position in the tree.

Ragnvald, Ivar, and a few people from the other teams turned to look up at me. I started climbing down from the tree and pointed out at the lake where the splash Loki had made from diving into the lake was starting to shrink. Their eyes grew wide as we all ran to the lake. Everyone but Ivar and I decided to go into the lake, but Loki had already resurfaced with his hair slicked back from his face from the water. Droplets of water cascaded down Loki's face from his hair and eyelashes as his emerald eyes looked unexpressive. Then, a smile formed on his face as his eyes brightened and he raised his hand in the air holding what looked like to be a trophy of some kind which seemed quite fitting since this was really a competition.

"Yes! Yes, Loki!" you started yelling as you jumped up and down.

Ragnvald raised his fist in the air from the water as Ivar high fived me. The people from the other two teams that were in the water expressed their disappointment as the others made their way over.

"What happened?" Ingrid asked.

"Group two won. Loki found it." Liv said unenthusiastically from her position on the ground.

Honestly, I had forgotten that she was even there.

"Really? Great! My team won and now we can leave!" Ingrid clapped happily.

"That's my brother!" Thor yelled as Loki came out of the water receiving a pat on the back from Ragnvald.

Thor also gave Loki a congratulatory pat on the back, but gave it much more force than Ragnvald did.

"Eh, thanks brother." Loki said, wincing slightly.

"Mother and father would be most proud!" Thor exclaimed.

Loki's face seemed to light up at that. "You think so?"

"Definitely!" Thor said with a smile as Loki smiled back and walked over to join you and the rest of your group.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Loki, but thank the gods you found it so now we can get out of here." Ingrid huffed.

"Ignore her. I knew you could do it!" You said brightly as you hugged Loki, not caring that he was soaking wet from his dive into the lake.

Loki laughed, "You're all wet now too."

"I don't care." You said pulling away as the horn sounded, signaling the end of the mission.

The next thing you knew, you were all right back at the entrance to the forest.


	10. Chapter 10 (Childhood)

Hi everyone! Sorry this is up so late; I was with my family today since it was Father's Day and I also wasn't feeling too well today. I'm glad everyone liked Loki's revenge- there will certainly be more of Loki's dark side as the story progresses! This isn't my favorite chapter that I've written, but I did like the end of this chapter. I have better plans for the next chapter! As always, reviews are wonderful!

* * *

"Well done group two and specifically Loki for finding the object!" You heard Vali call out, clapping his hands upon everyone's arrival.

Everyone more or less congratulated your team, some more begrudgingly than others, particularly Fandral who glowered at both you and Loki as if you were both the reason why his team didn't win.

"Now, the winning group, as a reward for your performance, you do not have to attend the next training session. You've earned a day of rest." Vali said which caused your group to erupt into cheers.

Your entire group gathered into a big hug that originated when you hugged Loki out of joy from being exempt from a training session and soon everyone followed suit, including Ingrid. It actually didn't surprise you too much that Ingrid joined in on the group hug because she absolutely loathed training even though she was fairly good at combat. Loki blushed at the attention he was receiving and even looked a little bit uncomfortable. Loki's initial discomfort quickly melted away, however, as he began to enjoy the positive treatment he was receiving from his peers who usually only praised Thor.

"As for the rest of you," Vali said to the other two groups, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. Enjoy the rest of your day everyone."

Fandral brushed Loki's shoulder as he walked by causing Loki to glare over at him.

"Don't worry about him, he's just jealous." You said to Loki.

"Oh, I don't doubt that. He's just determined to find any way to try and make me miserable." Loki responded quickly.

"I can tell, but try your best to avoid him." You offered.

"I do," Loki spoke as he continued to watch Fandral walk away with the rest of his team, "but he always seems to find me."

"Well, if he does find you then just ignore him and walk away." You said earning a blank stare from Loki.

"What?" You asked, obviously confused.

Loki sighed and said, "I can't just ignore him or run off like a coward; that will make his taunts worse."

You narrowed your eyes at Loki and then squinted ahead to see the outline of Fandral. "He teases you?"

Loki bit his lip, "His preferred form of torment is physical assault, but yes, verbal taunts are certainly rampant."

You felt an immense amount of anger building up inside of you at Loki's words. You couldn't believe that Fandral was being so cruel to Loki who didn't deserve to be treated so poorly. You felt like you were the only other person besides Thor who cared about Loki or thought well of him. You were angry that Fandral was isolating Loki and even resorting to physically hurting him. Yet, you saw no signs of abuse on Loki.

You took a deep breath to steady your anger and said to Loki, "You have no marks on your skin."

Loki nodded his head solemnly. "I know this. I was wrong to think that anyone would believe me."

"Wait!" You grabbed Loki's arm, "I didn't say that I don't believe you. I believe you more than anyone else. I just don't understand why there are no signs of abuse if Fandral did attack you."

Loki looked at you sadly as he said, "A few nights ago, the same night you left dinner to go back to your room alone, Fandral tripped me in the hallway. No one saw what happened, but he ridiculed me there and my face was pretty messed up. I went back to my room that night and when I woke up in the morning, it was if nothing had happened. I guess I have the ability to heal quickly."

"It doesn't matter if you heal quickly or not! Fandral shouldn't have done what he did! It's…it's an outrage!" You yelled angrily, but fortunately no one was within earshot to hear your anger.

"Shh, shh." Loki whispered as he motioned with his hands for you to quiet down, "I know it wasn't right of him to behave as such, but I do not want you to get involved in this. It concerns Fandral and I, no one else."

"You're telling me to calm down, Loki? I can't! I can't believe he did this to you and to think, I knew something was off about you that morning, but I took your word for it that you were only tired, that nothing was really wrong! Why did you lie to me, Loki?" you asked as your eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to fall.

Loki looked absolutely heartbroken as he said softly, "I wanted to prevent this from happening. I didn't want you to know because I wanted to protect you from the truth. I knew that the truth would hurt you, so I fashioned a well-intentioned lie to save you the grief of feeling pity for me."

You shook your head furiously. "Loki, you can't lie to me about your own safety. Lying isn't going to stop me from caring about you. I was bound to find out eventually or see it for myself. I wish you had told me about this sooner."

"I know, I know Aurora." Loki said as he placed a hand on your shoulder and looked into your eyes. "I'm sorry for not confiding in you. I just thought it'd be best for me to keep this a secret because I didn't want you to be hurt by what is happening to me. The last thing I want to see is you hurt."

A few tears escaped from your eyes as you wiped them away before answering, "We're friends, Loki. If someone hurts you, they hurt me too. That's just how it works."

"Well, it shouldn't." Loki said as he pulled you in for a hug.

"But it does and you can't change that. I'm going to be your friend forever, Loki, and nothing you could ever do would change that." You said as he held you tightly.

"You will always be my friend too." Loki answered back.

You pulled away from Loki's hug and wiped your eyes one last time. You smiled faintly at Loki and said, "Do you want to go to the library?"

"You know I'd never pass that up." Loki smiled at you as the two of you ventured to the library.

* * *

After you and Loki had gone to the library and spent time with others in the palace, it was later at night so you decided to try and sleep. You turned out all the lights and laid there in the dark staring up at your ceiling. You had wrapped your blue sheets around your body in an attempt to feel more comfortable as you waited for sleep to come.

After lying in bed for a while you began to toss and turn. Growing increasingly frustrated, you soon surmised that you were not going to fall asleep anytime soon. You really hated lying in bed staring at the ceiling or wall unable to sleep. You decided that you would rather get up and wander about the palace at night rather than remain in your room. You decided to change into different clothes and you walked out of your room and into the corridor. As you expected, nobody was in your corridor. The corridor was lit by torches on the walls as you wandered down it and out into another corridor along the side of the palace. You ventured out the palace and sat down on stone steps that led out of the palace from the side and to the pathway which led to the rest of Asgard. You normally didn't leave the palace, but you hoped to see what else was out there one day. From your position on the steps you looked out at the night sky and at all the stars and the different colored galaxies that you found amazing to look at. You wondered what exactly was out there; you wanted to see different realms and experience more than daily life on Asgard.

You were so mesmerized by the nighttime sky that you didn't hear someone approaching you.

"I see that sleep is evading you as well."

You turned around startled, but placed your hand over your racing heart when you saw who it was. "Loki! Don't sneak up on me like that please; you scared me!"

"You have my apologies, Lady Aurora." Loki said as he sat down next to you on the steps.

"It's okay; you just startled me a little is all." You replied as you removed your hand and placed back at your side.

Loki smiled as he looked up at the sky. "It's quite a magnificent display isn't it?"

You nodded, "It's beautiful; like nothing I've ever seen before. I really like all the different colors, stars, and swirl patterns."

"It really makes you wonder what more exists out there beyond what we can see." Loki spoke eyeing the giant red galaxy that had remnants of magenta in it as well.

"I hope one day I can see even a fraction of what is out there. There must be something amazing out there that hasn't be discovered yet or completely understood. I want to travel and see what the other realms are like, and everything in between." You said wistfully.

Loki turned his attention to you and smiled, "It'd be wise to leave some realms off of your itinerary though, like Jotunheim for example."

You turned to face Loki and said, "I even want to go to Jotunheim."

Loki looked taken aback, "Why?"

"Even though the Frost Giants live there and I've heard it's cold and pretty scary, I still want to go because it's something I've never seen before. I'd like to see what other places are like and besides, I'd love to sketch other landscapes besides our own." You responded.

"Jotunheim is frigid, dark, and desolate. There wouldn't be much to sketch." Loki chuckled.

You shrugged, "Maybe a nice ice fortress or something?"

"Oh, I'm confident there are ice fortresses there, but I'm not sure I'd call them nice or appealing." Loki continued laughing.

"Well, at any rate, I still want to go." You said as you looked back up at the dark sky painted with bursts of brilliantly colorful designs.

"I hope to avoid Jotunheim, personally." Loki spoke.

"I'm sure most people do. I certainly wouldn't want to fight any Frost Giants." You said.

"Me neither. I hope I never do." Loki sighed.

"Me too." You said squeezing Loki's hand.

You leaned your head into Loki's shoulder as he leaned his head on top of yours. The two of you remained in that position for a while just gazing up at the sky and talking. If anyone else in the palace had been awake and had seen the two of you comfortably sitting on the steps late at night, they would have undoubtedly had the impression that the two of you were romantically affiliated. However, this was not the case. You and Loki were just two best friends enjoying each other's company in the dead of night when sleep had refused to visit either of them yet. Loki was the one person in all of Asgard that you felt the most comfortable and secure around. Loki understood you perfectly and you understood him. You truly felt fortunate to have Loki in your life and you hoped he felt the same way.

You could feel your eyelids growing heavy as you fought to keep your eyes open. The spectacular celestial scene in front of you kept fading in and out. You didn't want it to go away, but at the same time, you felt as if maybe you were finally becoming tired enough to give in to sleep.

"Loki…" You murmured drowsily.

"Are you falling asleep, Aurora?" Loki asked you as he removed his head from on top of yours and looked at you.

You nodded our head lazily, "I think so."

"I think you should go to bed then." Loki said as he stood up.

"I…I don't want to walk. I'll just sleep….right here." You yawned, covering your mouth as you lay down on your side.

"Aurora," Loki suppressed a smile, "you shouldn't sleep out here. I'll take you to your room."

"Mhmmm…okay." You said softly with your eyes closed.

"I'm going to pick you up now," Loki said as he knelt down beside you, "so just hold onto me, okay?"

"Okay, Loki." You mumbled drearily as he wrapped an arm behind your shoulder blades and behind your knees.

Loki hoisted you off the ground as you opened your eyes slightly and placed your arms around his neck.

"I've got you, don't worry." Loki said as he began carrying you back into the palace.

"I'm not worried, Loki. I trust you." You smiled faintly as you leaned your head against him and drifted in and out of consciousness, finally falling asleep in Loki's arms as he carried you into your room.


	11. Chapter 11 (Childhood)

As always, thank you to my lovely reviewers! This is chapter 11 and there's a bit of a standoff at the end of this chapter. I think I'm going to do just four more chapters of childhood before moving on to adolescence. I have it planned out for the basic plot of how I want their childhood story to end. I hope you all like this chapter!

* * *

"I want to thank you for taking care of me last night when I fell asleep on you even though it might seem unnecessary." You said to Loki as the two of you walked out of the palace and onto the grounds.

"There is no need to thank me, Lady Aurora. I was just watching out for you as your friend." Loki replied as the two of you left the steps that you had fallen asleep on last night.

"You always know that I'll still thank you for anything kind that you do, Loki. You should know by now that it is useless to tell me not to thank you." You smirked at him with a hint of amusement in your eyes.

"I suppose you are right," Loki sighed, "you are quite stubborn after all." Loki finished cracking a smile as gaped at him in shock.

Loki titled his head at you, "Oh come on now, you know that I can tell that you are feigning astonishment at my words as if they offended you, but you and I both know that is not the case."

You closed your mouth at a loss for words. Eventually, you asked, "You read my mind didn't you?"

Loki laughed and shook his head, "No, I didn't need to read your mind to tell you were faking. I could tell simply by having known you this long. I imagine that there is very little you can hide from me since we're so close and you are…so easy to read."

"Hey! I don't know if I should take offense to that or not…" You interjected and then trailed off unsure of how to proceed.

"I did not say those words to be offensive; it was merely an observation. I'd never be mean to you." Loki said as the two of you walked to the garden.

"I know, Loki. I'm just joking with you. Try not to worry so much." You smiled as you broke into a run leaving behind a confused Loki.

"Aurora! Why are you running?" Loki called out after you as he stood still not far from the steps leading back into the palace.

"Are you coming or not? I bet you can't catch me!" You yelled over your shoulder to Loki as you continued to run off in the direction of the garden.

"We'll see." Loki said aloud to himself as he too broke into a run.

You could hear Loki's footsteps as he ran toward you, beginning to close the gap in between the two of you. Without turning around to see where he was, you yelled, "You'll have to run faster than that!"

"I think you better run faster if you do not want to get caught!" Loki yelled from behind you.

"I can't run any faster!" You laughed as you turned around to see where Loki was and you saw that he was quickly closing the distance between the two of you.

"No, no, no, no! Stay back! Why can't I run any faster than this!?" You huffed as you tried to accelerate more to avoid Loki catching up with you before you reached the garden.

Suddenly, you felt something come into contact with your side as you felt yourself falling toward the ground. Your fall was cushioned by something other than your body, however, and looking down you saw that it was Loki. Loki had succeeded in catching up with you and bringing you down with him. Loki smiled up at you, barely panting, while you were very much out of breath.

"Y-y-ou're f-f-f-a-ast-t." You managed to say in between inhales of breath.

"I told you that I'd catch you. Believe me now?" Loki asked, his eyes shining as brightly as freshly polished emeralds in the sunlight.

You decided to save your lungs the trouble of sucking in more air to form words, so you simply nodded your head.

Loki sat up and lifted you off of him placing you next to him. You and Loki were sitting on the grass which you hoped would not stain your attire.

"If your antics have caused my clothing to become dirty, my mother will not be too pleased with you." You said to Loki as you smoothed your icy blue gown over your knees.

"I'm sure that my clothing is dirty from the fall, but I can fix it." Loki said as he investigated his clothes for any stains or dirt.

"Ah, here is one. See?" Loki asked you as he grabbed his sleeve and turned it toward you so you could see it.

"That is a pretty large mark. I don't see how you can remove that." You said to Loki.

"Watch." Loki instructed as he waved his hand over the stain and pinching his fingers together as he pulled upward.

"What? How are you doing that?" You asked Loki, astonished at the sight of the stain lifting off of Loki's sleeve and then dissipating into the air.

Loki turned to look at you and smiled, "Magic."

"That's incredible! You're really something else." You said in amazement.

"Something else? What do you mean?" Loki asked you.

"You're…unique. Nobody else in Asgard is quite like you. It's almost as if you aren't from Asgard at all." You said with a small laugh.

Loki laughed too, "That's ridiculous. Of course I'm from Asgard. Where else would I be from?"

You laughed with Loki and said, "You're clearly an Asgardian, you're just more special than the rest of us."

"I think you're the only one who views me that way." Loki said as he laid down in the grass with his hands behind his head.

"Why do you say that?" You asked as you mimicked Loki's position.

"Everyone else seems to think I'm weird or an outcast; they're one in the same thing I would say." Loki spoke as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Well, who cares what they think? Just continue being you whether they like it or not. Who else could you be anyway? You're always going to be who you are right now and nothing will change that." You spoke to the sky above you.

"Rather poetic words." Loki responded.

"It's more than well-chosen words, it's the truth." You said adamantly.

Loki's green eyes opened as he removed his hands from behind his head and placed them on his stomach. "I suppose I have no choice other than to learn to embrace who I am, even though I may be scorned by others."

"You're not the only one who isn't favored by everyone; in fact, no one is everybody's favorite. I'm not well received by everyone either and you think everyone favors Thor over you? Well, I favor you over Thor." You said turning on your side to face Loki.

Loki sensed your movement and turned to look at you saying, "You really mean that?"

"Of course I do, Loki. If I liked Thor better than you why would I spend most of my time with you and why would I be lying here on the grass risking the cleanliness of my attire instead of spending time with Thor?" You asked as you raised an eyebrow.

Loki rolled his eyes, "I suppose that does make sense."

"Of course it makes sense. It makes sense because I'm right." You stuck your tongue out at Loki.

"Very funny." Loki smiled as he returned the gesture.

"I know I am. I left something in my room that I want to go and get so stay here; I'll be right back, okay?" You asked as you got up off the grass and smoothed down your gown.

"Oh trust me," Loki said as he spread his arms out, "I have no plans to move anytime soon."

"Good," you laughed, "I'll be back in a moment." You said as you turned to go back to your quarters and retrieve your journal.

You usually carried it with you whenever you went out, but you had failed to bring it with you today when Loki knocked on your door earlier. You passed by Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Sif, Liv, Ingrid, Gunner, and Agmund who were walking down the corridor that you were also walking in to get to your room. Sif waved at you which you also did while Volstagg gave you a friendly smile. Hogun looked as stoic as usual and Gunner as intimidating as usual. Agmund was twirling his sword around in boredom while Liv and Ingrid whispered to each other. Fandral glared at you which you chose to ignore by quickly turning your head away from him. You finally made it to your room and began looking for your journal.

"Ah, there it is." You said to yourself as you picked it up off your bedside table and shut the door behind you as you reentered the corridor.

You absentmindedly strolled through the corridor sifting through the pages of your journal on your way back to where you left Loki. As you walked down the steps leading outside you heard a loud voice yelling and a softer voice saying something back, only to be followed by a loud thud.

"What is going-" you began to say aloud as you looked up from your journal and gasped at the sight before you, dropping your journal to the ground.

From where you stood, you could clearly see that Loki was on the ground and Fandral was repeatedly kicking him in the side. Loki had decided to roll away from Fandral in an attempt to escape Fandral's blows long enough to get up, but Fandral jumped on top of Loki to hold him down as he tried to get out from underneath him. Loki successfully managed to reverse their positions, but Fandral quickly punched Loki in the jaw and pushed him off and back onto the ground. You could also see that the same group of people who were with Fandral in the corridor when you saw them were standing idly by, watching, doing nothing. You had seen enough.

"Hey! Fandral! Stop it! Stop this instant!" You yelled angrily as you ran over.

Everyone, including Fandral, looked over at you as you came sprinting over, your face clearly evoking the rage and disgust that you felt.

Loki was the only person not looking at you; he was clutching his left arm and was lying on his back with his eyes closed. When you finally reached the group, you looked down at Loki, his face marred by scars that you could see this time, and then you glared at Fandral and the others. You would not be surprised if your hazel eyes had transformed into an angry red, fueled by what you were currently feeling inside.

"Who do you think you are?!" You yelled pointing a shaking finger at Fandral.

"Why, I'm quite certain that I am Fandral." Fandral said pointing his own finger at himself.

"Don't play games with me! I know your name, you insolent brute! Who do you think you are that you have the right to treat Loki like this, or anyone for that matter?" You continued yelling.

Fandral put his hands up and said, "You need to calm down. Your tone is going to wake the dead."

"Then let it! I do not care if it wakes the dead, I hope my yelling does wake them so that when they become annoyed at the disturbance I can show them who is to blame and who they can take out their anger on, just like I'm doing right now!" You spat at Fandral as you clenched your fists at your side.

"I don't even understand why you're so upset. It's Loki- what does he matter?" Fandral asked.

You heard a sharp inhale come from your mouth as you trembled where you stood from pure, unadulterated anger. "How dare you say that about him?!"

Fandral just shrugged at your astonishment as the others looked anywhere but at you, Fandral, or Loki who was still lying on the ground.

"And you lot," you pointed at the group to the right of yourself and Fandral, "how could you all just stand there watching as this goes on? Why did none of you say anything or step in to help him? You're all just as bad as Fandral! There are two kinds of evil people; people who do evil things like Fandral, and people who see evil things happening and do nothing about it, that's all of you!"

None of them said anything to you; they just avoided your irate stare or tentatively met your gaze.

"I can't believe all of you! Especially you, Sif, I thought you were better than this!" You turned your anger towards your second closest friend.

"Aurora, I-" Sif began but you cut her off before she could finish.

"Save it, Sif. It's too late now." You said curtly as you turned back to Fandral, leaving Sif standing stark still, biting her lip.

You stepped closer to Fandral who liked displeased by your proximity. "I should just punch you right here in the face, right now. Let's see how you like it!" You yelled as your drew your fist back to hit Fandral.

Before your fist could connect with Fandral's face, someone grabbed your fist from behind and stopped you from hitting a closed eyed Fandral in the face.

"Please don't." Loki said from behind you.

Fandral slowly opened his eyes as you glared at him and turned around to face Loki, "Why not? Look what he did to you, again."

You slowly lifted your hand to lightly touch Loki's face, moving your finger over the cuts and bruises that had formed on his pale face. Loki looked at you sadly as he said, "This is not your fight. I will deal with Fandral at another time."

"But-" You began in protest.

Loki cut you off saying, "No protests, Aurora. I appreciate your concern and your loyalty in defending me, but I do not want you involved in this because I do not want to see you get hurt somehow. Leave this matter to me for a later time, please."

You sighed as you shot a glare at a smirking Fandral.

"I wouldn't look so pleased, Fandral," You said icily, "You were the one who looked afraid of getting punched by a girl."

Fandral's smirk faded as Loki faintly smiled at you. "Let's go."

You nodded as you left the others behind and walked away with Loki, retrieving your journal on the way back into the palace.


	12. Chapter 12 (Childhood)

Hello everyone! First, I want to give a shout out to **A Wild Clover **and **Cougar rolypoly bug **for your reviews on the last chapter! Aurora's hair is a mahogany brown color and her eyes are hazel, so they are green with flecks of brown in them making them not quite as green as Loki's eyes. I only mentioned her eye and hair color in maybe two of the chapters so far, so hopefully this will clear up the confusion. And **Cougar**, thanks for picking up on the subtle inclusion that Loki might not be of Asgard :) I wanted to find a way to work that suspicion in there.

This is chapter 12 and while it is a bit shorter than most of my chapters have been lately, it is pretty much all dialogue between Aurora and Loki. It's a bit different than other chapters I have written so far and when you start reading, you'll see why! Happy reading!

* * *

"You should have let me punch him." You sighed as you and Loki walked down the palace corridor toward Loki's room.

"What good would that have done, Aurora? You can't expect to end this quarrel between Fandral and I by just punching him in the face. All that would do is create more trouble which is not going to benefit anyone." Loki grimaced as he clutched his right side.

"Do your ribs hurt?" You asked Loki, changing the topic because you became concerned as you eyed him holding his side.

"I'll be fine." Loki said, still with the pained expression on his face.

"Here, let me help you, just lean on me." You said as you rushed to his side and brought his right arm around your shoulder and placed your left arm around his back.

Loki didn't argue with you or insist that he could walk properly on his own which you took as a sign that he really was in pain. You continued supporting Loki as the two of you finally reached his room. You opened the door and led him over to his bed where he slowly laid down in order to avoid hurting himself any further.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" You asked Loki who looked worn out.

"No, I'll heal relatively quickly on my own. I just need to rest." Loki responded wearily.

"Okay, but after you rest you should tell Queen Frigga or King Odin about Fandral." You said softly.

Loki's eyes shot wide open as he sat up on the bed with newfound energy as he said, "Absolutely not."

"What do you mean no? You have to tell them, Loki." You said knitting your eyebrows in confusion.

Loki shook his head rapidly which only caused him to wince and put his hand to his head. "Mother and father are too busy caring for the kingdom to have time to deal with my juvenile problems. This matter is too trivial for them. I do not wish to burden them nor do I think it requires their attention."

"You can't be serious Loki. You're their son! You are more important than the kingdom!" You raised your voice.

"I am just one person in the midst of our whole realm; I do not take precedence over the others." Loki said with his voice still soft.

"You do though, Loki! This isn't right, you must tell them!" You urged him as you sat down at the edge of his bed.

"I know it isn't right, but like I told you earlier, I will handle it myself. Why can't you listen to me?" Loki asked, growing slightly frustrated.

"I can't because if you say nothing, this will continue to go on and it will probably get even worse!" You said gesturing wildly.

Loki sighed as he placed his head in his heads and mumbled into his palms, "Please, Aurora. Why do you not understand that I do not wish to tell my parents about this?"

"I know that it won't be easy, but you need to, Loki. You need to speak up…if it helps, I'll go with you to tell them." You said lowering your voice as you placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not telling them." Loki said into his palms.

"Then I will." You said as you stood up.

Loki grabbed your hand lightning fast and looked at you with commanding eyes that were almost angry.

"You will not tell them." Loki said firmly.

"Loki," You squirmed in his grasp, "let me go."

"If I let you go, you'll tell my parents and I can't have you do that." Loki said as he kept your wrist in his grasp.

You sighed, "I really don't understand why you won't just tell them."

"I'm ashamed, that's why! Okay? I'm embarrassed that I was singled out as the target and that I'm too weak to defend myself, or to win. I'm ashamed and I don't want my parents to think I'm worthless too!" Loki yelled as he finally broke down right in front of you.

"Loki…" You began as you felt tears behind your eyes.

Loki's hand was still clasped around your wrist as it began to shake while Loki fought back the tears that he did not want you to see leave his eyes.

"You cannot change my mind on this. Just leave the matter alone." Loki said shakily.

"I don't know if I can." You said.

Loki lifted his head and turned his piercing green eyes toward you as he stared intensely at you, so intensely that you felt as if you had been pinned against the wall and were immobilized.

"You have to." Loki spoke.

"You're better than this, Loki. You aren't a coward and you aren't weak. By speaking up you'd be stronger than Fandral, than all of them." You said as you stared back at him.

Loki's eyes changed at that moment, it was if a storm that had been gathering power had finally let loose.

"Do not tell me what I need to do to be better or stronger than them." Loki seethed.

"I-I-I'm not." You stammered, taken aback by Loki's tone.

"You just did." Loki hissed.

You had never heard Loki speak like this to you, or to anyone before and even though it frightened you, you refused to back down.

"Don't twist my words, Loki. I merely said that you're more than they think you are and you just need to show them." You said, regaining your composure.

Loki's grip tightened around your wrist causing you to wince slightly as he stressed the words, "You are trying to trick me into doing what you want. You want me to comply with your demands so you are altering your speech in hopes that you will smooth talk me into acting according to your wishes. Well, Aurora, I am not, nor will I ever be, anyone's marionette."

You scoffed, "You think I'm trying to control you?"

"That is precisely what I am insinuating." Loki narrowed his eyes at you.

"I don't know what 'insinuating' means, but you're getting on my nerves!" You yelled.

"The annoyance is mutual." Loki said firmly.

"Well! I don't know what I've done wrong here; I'm just trying to help you!" You huffed.

"You have surpassed help, you are attempting to force your whims upon me when I repeatedly told you that I do not share the same compulsion that you do. It is my life, my problem, and I told you I would deal with it. Why do you not trust me? Oh wait, you do not think I'm capable of handling it! I should have known!" Loki said as he grew angry at the end when he discovered your true reason for wanting him to tell someone else about what was occurring.

"You know," You sighed in frustration, "I really wish you'd stop using words that I don't understand. You're making me angrier in the process. Are you belittling me?"

"You avoided my question, and your wish is just another one that is not going to come true, I fear." Loki paused and then continued with an unfriendly laugh, "Why would I waste my time belittling you when I am trying to get you angry enough to leave?"

"Well, you succeeded! If you want me to leave so badly then let go of my wrist and I will!" You yelled at Loki.

Loki smirked and released his grip on you, bringing his hand up to eye level and twisting it side to side, "I've done my part."

"Now I'm going to do mine." You said furiously as you turned around and walked to Loki's door.

You opened the door and before you left Loki's room you turned around and said, "Oh, one last thing. You're right; I don't think you're capable of handling this on your own."

Loki looked positively irate as he glared at you in a way you didn't even know he was capable of doing. You gave Loki a blatantly fake smile that epitomized sarcasm as you slammed the door shut behind you.

Immediately as the door slammed behind you, you let out a groan of frustration as you stormed off to your own room. Loki also released his anger as he picked up a glass and threw it at the wall causing it to shatter into a hundred pieces.

"I'll show them all. They'll all see." Loki growled at the shards of broken glass, as if it had been guilty of some transgression as well.


	13. Chapter 13(Childhood)

Greetings, readers! For this chapter, we will see how Aurora's and Loki's fight will test their friendship. In this chapter, a mythological deity mentioned in an earlier chapter makes another appearance. I hope you all like this chapter and reviews are much appreciated as always! I encourage new reviewers to comment too, it's never too late to start!

To **A Wild Clover**: Loki is definitely starting to become a bit darker! I'm not sure I would be able to restrain myself from telling Odin and Frigga either- I'd be too worried about him getting hurt even worse! Thank you for your lovely review :) No apologies needed for that; I didn't mention her appearance a lot, I was keeping it pretty minimalistic since I have encountered stories where so much emphasis is placed on appearance, but perhaps I did not highlight it enough in this story yet.

To **Cougar rolypoly bug**: Do not worry :) It may sound strange to say, but in a sense, it is good for me as writer that my chapter actually stirred up some genuine concern for their friendship, that it felt real enough to elicit such feelings. So, thank you for that! Do not worry too much though, I don't want to cause too much of that! :)

* * *

You rolled over in your bed and groaned. You knew that today was going to be a bad day because it had just started only seconds ago and you were already in a miserable mood. Your fight with Loki yesterday had left you feeling absolutely angry and hurt. Loki had never said such terrible things to you until yesterday; you didn't even know he was capable of saying such things, but apparently you didn't know him as well as you thought you did.

With your thoughts and emotions still fresh in your mind, you reached for your journal and opened it to a blank page. You began to write how you felt and pressed a little forcibly onto the paper at some points. You were coping with your feelings about the fight in one of the only ways you knew how- you were writing it out, purging your soul in a way. You were trying to get all of the bad thoughts and feelings to flow from you into the ink and onto the paper. You didn't want to bottle everything up and writing it out helped you to an extent.

After you felt that you had written all you could, you closed your journal with a sigh as you said to yourself, "I guess I better get ready for the day, even though I don't want to at all."

You brushed out the knots in your hair and put on a dark green gown. You were about to grab your journal when a thought crossed your mind. You withdrew your hand and exited your quarters without your journal. You had decided that there was someone you needed to visit.

* * *

**Loki's POV**

My fight with Aurora had left me even angrier than I had felt whenever Fandral and I had an encounter. I was angrier about my fight with Aurora because she was supposed to be my friend whereas Fandral was never my friend. Aurora was supposed to support me and be on my side, not try and force me to do something I clearly felt uncomfortable about or had no desire to do. Yet, she had defied my statements and tried to force me to do what she thought was best. She isn't me, how can she know what is best for me? I knew that telling my father and mother about what was going on was not the best choice because it would create more stress for them, more shame for me, and more trouble. It was clearly not the wise choice, but Aurora was too stubborn to see the truth. Her behavior angered me because she was not listening to anything I had to say, it was as if she had already made her mind up about the matter even though it directly concerned me, not her. Furthermore, Aurora confessed right to my face that she didn't believe in me. She admitted that she didn't think I was capable of defending myself against Fandral or that I could settle the matter myself.

Scoffing, I said aloud to myself, but addressing Aurora as if she were here with me, "I should have guessed that deep down you would be just like everyone else. Your façade had me fooled, but that will be the last time I fall for anyone's lies. Everyone is going to start mistaking my lies for truth now. I am tired of playing the victim to everyone else's assailant."

I paced back and forth in my room as I ran my hands through my dark hair. I felt an increasing amount of tension in my body, coiling and uncoiling as it threatened to snap inside of me. I knew that I was on the verge of losing my control, and I was not convinced that I cared anymore. I had been the quiet and reserved person who was often forgotten in the shadows of everyone else's greatness. If I couldn't be loved, then I decided that I would be feared. I felt that becoming feared would be an easier task than earning everyone's affections since they had never been quite keen on me all of these years. As I continued pacing, I realized that it would probably take a significant amount of time for me to achieve what I had planned, but that was acceptable. I am patient and willing to put forth the time and effort necessary to achieve my goals. The day would come when everyone will wish they had treated me differently, but I gave them multiple chances. I was moving on from the ridicule and seclusion not with resignation, but acceptance.

Still, I was angry and the tension had finally uncoiled enough to snap somewhere deep inside of me. I clenched my fists so hard that my fingernails dug into the palm of my hand. Upon unclenching them, there were tiny indentations in my palm. I unsheathed a dagger from the strap on my arm and clasped the hilt. Then, I clenched my teeth tightly, and threw the dagger forward, plunging it into my wall. I grasped the hilt to pull it out and then stepped back from the wall to throw the dagger so that it embedded itself into the wall again. I repeated this process a few times before my arm hurt enough that I decided to stop. Now that I had released most of my anger via throwing one of my daggers, I decided to venture to the library to pick up a book on magic. This book was going to be different than others I had studied before. I was going to explore dark magic.

* * *

**Aurora's POV**

You were walking down the corridor to make your visit when you saw Loki walking down the same corridor as you, staring at his feet as he walked. Reflexively, you took a sharp inhale of breath at the sight of him. You marveled at how different your reaction was upon seeing Loki than it normally would have been. On any other day, you would have run straight for Loki, happy to see him. However, in light of the recent fight, you were apprehensive at his sudden appearance and immediately felt uncomfortable because you didn't know how to act. You didn't know if you should keep going or run in the other direction before he saw you.

Before you could choose which action to make, however, Loki looked up from his shoes as if he had noticed your presence in the corridor. Your eyes widened as his green gaze met your eyes for a brief second, before he flicked his eyes away from you as if he had deemed you unworthy to look him in the eyes. You felt your shoulders fall in defeat as you thought that Loki probably hated you now. You were mean to him yesterday by telling him you didn't think he could handle the matter on his own. Loki was being rather aggressive yesterday, but you regretted your words as soon as you slammed his door behind you on your way out after your fight with Loki. You and Loki drew closer as you both continued to walk down the corridor and your heart raced faster the closer the two of you got to each other. You couldn't stop staring at Loki who was ignoring you as if you didn't exist at all.

You and Loki had finally neared each other enough to come into contact and you expected Loki to rudely brush past your shoulder, but he avoided coming into contact with you entirely. You turned around to watch Loki continue to walk down the corridor, hoping he would turn around to see if you were watching him go, but he never did. He just turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Hot tears pricked your eyes at Loki's reaction, or lack thereof, after seeing you. You were hoping that Loki would apologize the minute he saw you, but he completely ignored you. You wanted to apologize to Loki, but you didn't know how to say it to him when he seemed so angry. You were afraid of making him angrier. The tears had started to flow as you fought to wipe them off of your face so no one would notice them. As you continued walking and wiping away the tears, you reached the place you had been looking for; the courts.

You bit your lip and tentatively peered into the large courtroom to see if court was in session or if Forseti was anywhere to be found. You saw him standing in front of a large desk with his hands clasped behind his back. Quietly, you walked into the courtroom and made one last attempt at wiping away all of your tears. Once you felt that you had cleared away all you could, you cleared your throat and spoke, "Forseti, could I please speak to you?"

Forseti turned around and smiled at you. "It has been quite a while since we last spoke, Lady Aurora."

"I know," you began, "many years."

Forseti nodded and he removed his hands from behind his back and walked closer to you. "You will soon be leaving your childhood behind whereas when we last spoke, it had only just begun."

"I'm ready to leave it behind." You tried to manage a smile.

Forseti titled his head and knitted his eyebrows, "Why is that?"

You took a deep breath and said, "I messed up, Forseti. I thought I was doing what was right, but maybe I was wrong."

"Ah, I should have known that this would concern what is right or wrong." Forseti laughed and continued, "You always were concerned about what is right or just, even when you were younger. It is an admirable trait, but it can throw you into inner turmoil."

"Yes, it certainly does." You sighed as the god now stood in front of you.

"Come," Forseti gestured with his hands to a bench, "let us sit and we will discuss the matter that is troubling you."

You followed Forseti as the two of you sat down and you said, "A friend of mine, whose name I will not mention, has been the victim of ridicule and mockery. He is constantly terrorized by someone both physically and mentally, for no good reason. He has been singled out as unequal to everyone else and it pains me to see him treated so poorly."

Your eyes were watering again at this point but you continued on saying, "Yesterday I arrived on the scene to see people standing by as he was beaten and no one tried to help him. It angered me, and I stepped in to defend him. Not much later, he and I got into an argument because I said he should tell someone about what has been happening to him, yet he refuses to do so and told me that he would handle the matter himself and to leave it alone."

"Did you leave it alone?" Forseti inquired.

"No," I said softly as I looked down at my hands, "I pressed on, insisting that he speak up or it won't stop. I then threatened to tell someone for him and he got very angry at me for that. Then, I told him that I didn't think he could settle the matter on his own and I left, slamming his door behind me."

Forseti looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Did your friend tell you why he wishes to keep this matter a secret?"

"He said that he feels ashamed, embarrassed, and is worried that his parents will think he is worthless if he tells them about what has been happening." You spoke, still examining your fingers.

"Do his fears make sense to you at all, Lady Aurora?" Forseti asked you as you finally looked up at him.

"I…I guess they do. I didn't at first, but after our fight I thought about it more, I tried to understand it from his point of view, not just my own." You said.

Forseti nodded and gave you a small smile. "It is very good that you were able to do that. You tried looking at the problem from another perspective, another point of view as you said. You will find that what you think is often very different from what someone else thinks in a particular situation. We may think we know exactly how someone feels, or that what we feel is right, or the only way to feel, but we must understand that this is not the case. With that being said, however, what you feel is not wrong. You are being a good friend by demonstrating your concern for your friend's welfare. However, you must remember that you cannot control how your friend wishes to live his life. His decisions are his alone to make. You can aid someone in the decision making process, but you cannot force someone to make the decision you want them to make."

"My friend accused me of trying to control him." You whispered shamefully.

"I feared that was what happened." Forseti said softly.

You looked at Forseti with teary eyes, "Is there anything I can do to fix what I've done? I'm terrified that I have lost my best friend. I need him in my life…he's so important to me."

"People are complicated and one cannot always know how to properly mend a broken relationship of any kind, or if it is even possible. However, one must always try if they truly wish to make amends. Before the problem is fixed, it is likely that you may be discouraged or that your apology will be rejected the first time you give it, but you must not let that deter you. Do you understand?" Forseti asked you.

You breathed in deeply and then replied, "Yes, I understand."

"Good. Now, based on what you have told me, I think that the best course of action you can take right now is to let your friend release his anger on his own. He will be impossible to talk to or reason with if his mind is clouded by rage. Then, I would recommend that you say to him what you just said to me; tell him how much he means to you and that you are sincerely sorry. Show him that you still care and that you feel differently about your actions now." Forseti spoke.

"I think I might even go so far as to say that I was wrong. I shouldn't have pressured him." You said sadly.

"All will be well." Forseti said as he placed a hand on your shoulder, "If you feel that you were in the wrong, confess that to him. Tell him all that is in your heart, be honest and try to control your emotions."

You nodded and replied, "You have my deepest thanks, Forseti. I saw him on my over here, and he acted as if he did not know me, so perhaps I should wait longer to seek him out to apologize."

"That would be wise." Forseti agreed.

You offered Forseti a small smile as you stood up and said, "I thank you for your help. It means a lot to me."

Forseti smiled, "Anytime, Lady Aurora."

"Farewell." You smiled back at him as you made your way out of the courtroom and back to your room.

You wanted to try and avoid other people as much as possible today. You had a lot of thinking to do about how you wanted to word your impending apology.

* * *

**Loki's POV**

I returned to my room with the dark magic book that I had been reading in the library under my arm. There was a lot of fascinating information in that book that I hoped to fully understand sometime soon. I had read a significant portion of the book already as I am a fast reader and grasp information rather quickly. I may not be as physically strong as my peers, but I certainly had intellectual strength that far surpassed theirs. My intelligence was to be my tool for making changes in my life. I would learn new things that none of my peers could understand or do, and I would learn how to do those things well.

As I lay down on my bed, I could not help but think of Aurora. Despite our fight, I felt lonely without her. She was one of the things in this realm that actually made me happy. I was still angry with her for what she had said to me yesterday, but I felt a stronger emotion than anger deep inside of me. I felt as if I actually needed her. I did not want to feel this way because I wanted to remain furious at her, but I found myself missing my friend. I did not know how much longer I would be able to spend my days without her and it had not even be that long yet.

I sighed to myself and said, "Aurora must hate me. How am I ever going to make amends?"


	14. Chapter 14(Childhood)

Hello everyone! I tried to upload this earlier, but it appeared that was down because I could not access this website. Fortunately, it's back up now though. I want to thank my new follower, **Katerina13** for your review! Thank you for your kind words and insight into how I've written this story so far as it pertains to how we see Loki in the movies. I can't wait to keep writing this story and I thank you for looking forward to what is to come :)

To my daily reviewers: **A Wild Clover**- I have successfully caused feels, yes! I loved your suggestion and I was actually thinking of doing that later on in the story, but I did it in this chapter! It's possible that it will occur again later on in the story too. Haha! The end of your comment made me laugh- I posted this around 2am and read your comment sometime after 3am and I know what it feels like to draw interesting comparisons late at night. I get weirder than usual after midnight which is when I do most of my writing haha. Thank you for your review :)

**Cougar rolypoly bug**- Awww :( I feel bad for making you cry! There were points writing the last couple chapters that I felt a bit teary eyed too, but things get better here, I promise! Their childhood is coming to a close, but since Loki isn't quite as dark in Thor as he is in the Avengers, Loki will not remain as he has been the past few chapters. He will at some points, but not entirely. Good question! They would be considered about age 14 by our Midgardian standards. Thank you for your review :)

I should also mention that the next chapter will be the _last _childhood chapter. With that being said, two updates from now I will start posting the adolescence chapters as I move closer to getting to where the "Thor" movie picks up. I hope you all like this chapter and please review as always!

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Training class had just ended and you were in a bad mood because Fandral had been taunting you upon noticing the unorthodox distance between you and Loki. Instead of sitting next to each other, you and Loki were as far apart as possible. This did not go unnoticed by your peers who mostly just shot the both of you weird glances. You did your best to ignore them while Loki met their stares with his own as if he was silently challenging them to say something to him.

"Did you and Loki over there have it out?" Fandral ran up beside you as you unsuccessfully to leave without being noticed.

You sighed, "Go away, Fandral."

"Oooh, you did!" Fandral looked positively gleeful as he announced, "Asgard's perfect best friends had a fight everyone! That's why they aren't speaking to each other!"

Loki stopped in his tracks where he too, was trying to leave with being seen. Loki stood still and did not turn to face anyone.

You, however, expressed your annoyance by pointing a finger in Fandral's face and saying, "Do not speak of that which you have no knowldege of, Fandral."

Fandral laughed and responded, "Everyone knows it. You act like we don't notice the both of you constantly sitting next to each other or whispering. Both of you aren't as invisible as you think you are."

Just as you were about to respond with an angry retort, a force pushed you back as you fell backwards onto the ground and a figure materialized in front of you. Loki had appeared right where you were and he was now grasping the front of Fandral's shirt.

"Have care how you speak, you say that I am incorrect in my perception of my invisibility in your eyes? No," Loki laughed menacingly and then narrowed his eyes at Fandral, "if I were invisible to you, you would not have victimized me. You believe that I am stupid enough to mistake your cruelness for invisibility? Do you?!" Loki asked angrily as he shook Fandral.

Fandral looked absolutely terrified of Loki for the first time in his life. Fandral was stunned speechless as was everyone else including yourself.

"I-I ne-ever sa-a-aid you were stu-upid." Fandral stammered.

Loki laughed again, but there was no mirth in it. "No, but you think plenty else of me. Do not lie, I can easily pry into your mind and spill all of your secrets. You think they are safe, locked inside your head, but you cannot hide your thoughts from me, Fandral."

Now Fandral laughed as he said, "You are insane. You think you can read my mind?"

Loki looked at Fandral blank faced as he said, "Maybe if I laugh it off and act arrogant nobody will know that I'm actually in fear right now. Sound familiar?"

Fandral gasped while Loki laughed as he lowered his voice, "You thought I was making a jest, but now everyone here knows that you are afraid of me."

Those who had seen the beginning of the scene had yet to leave. Sif, Ingrid, Liv, Hogun, Gunner, and Kari were rooted in place. Thor, Volstagg, Ivar, Agmund, and the others had already departed from the area along with Vali. It was similar to the situation Loki had been in; everyone was watching, but no one was reacting.

"You are all afraid of me actually. None of you know what I am going to do next so you all remain where you are in hope that you will not agitate me in any way, causing me to go after you next. Well, truth be told, you have all aggravated me and I could easily teach you all a lesson right now." Loki snarled.

You remained on the ground but shifted uncomfortably at the thought of what Loki would do if he felt like lashing out on someone.

Loki's snarl disappeared as it was replaced with a softer expression. Loki said in a soft voice that didn't correlate with the words he spoke, "Let Fandral be an example."

Fandral's eyes widened as he reached for Loki's hand around his shirt to release his grip, but as he did so Loki's eyes darted toward him as Loki lifted his free hand a few inches from Fandral's chest as a dark blue light emanated from Loki's palm and blasted into Fandral, causing him to fly back through the air and crash into a stone wall. Fandral's body crumpled to the ground as he lay limp. Loki lowered his hand as he looked around at everyone's stunned faces. Loki's eyes looked venomous as he grinned maliciously.

Nobody dared to move and Loki looked pleased by that.

"I hope that you will all learn from this moment and that you will think twice before crossing me." Loki warned the group as he turned his back on them.

As soon as Loki turned around, the others scrambled to Fandral's side which was not unknown to Loki, but he was too concerned by what he saw before him to care what the others were doing.

Lying on the ground visibly in pain, was you. You were clutching your side and inhaling sharply, wincing with each breath you took. You didn't know what happened, you were watching in horror as Loki attacked Fandral with some kind of magic and the next thing you knew, you were also slammed by some powerful force. The force had knocked the wind out of you and pushed you back even further than you already were. Your body did not leave the ground, but instead slid through the dirt. You felt the roughness of the soil against your skin as well as the impact of whatever hit you, but you were too stunned and breathless to scream. You lay on the ground with your eyes tightly shut wishing the pain away. You didn't understand why you felt so awful, but you suspected it had to do with Loki's magic.

Loki raced over to you and stood above you with concern all over his face. You couldn't see Loki because your eyes were still shut, but you had heard footsteps running over to you. You groaned, unable to form a proper sentence. Loki didn't speak, but placed a hand on yours as the he used his magic to transport you both away from the scene before anyone noticed that you had also been hurt.

* * *

You felt someone carrying you as you felt yourself drift in and out of consciousness. You didn't feel like you had enough strength to open your eyes so you kept them closed. You hoped that whoever was carrying you would be there when you regained consciousness. The last thought that crossed your mind was that whoever was carrying you was gentle and you wondered if Vali had come back and discovered you on the ground.

* * *

Color began to flood into your eyes as you slowly opened your eyes, the darkness receding. You realized that you were in your room and feeling the soft blankets beneath you, you guessed that you were in your bed. You groaned as you tried to lift your head.

"Be careful." a voice urged.

You turned your head to find the source of the voice discovering Loki sitting at your bedside looked drained and worried.

"L-Loki?" you stammered as you stared at him.

"I imagine that you are shocked to see me here." Loki replied.

You quickly backed up against your bed and braced yourself for some type of outburst. Loki's face fell at your actions as he frowned and lowered his head.

"I cannot blame you for recoiling at the sight of me. I would too." Loki said sadly.

You widened your eyes at Loki's words. Loki did not look violent or unstable like had lately, but instead looked penitent and sad. You were not sure what to make of Loki's demeanor because you were waiting for him to explode in a fury of emotions. Steadying your breathing, you stared at Loki as he lifted his head and net your eyes with his own. You could see the pain reflected in the depths of his emerald eyes. Loki's eyes had lost their usual luster and looked clouded over with misery and regret.

"What did you do to me?" you asked.

"I assumed that you would blame me for your predicament, correctly, it pains me to add." Loki said softly as he looked sorrowfully at you.

You simply stared back at Loki, unsure of what to say.

"I want you to know that I did not do this to you on purpose. I am going to attempt to explain what I think happened, please just listen to me for a moment?" Loki asked you.

"Fine, go ahead." You said as you crossed your arms.

Loki took a deep breath as he said, "You and I both know that we were both pretty angry after our fight and while we have not been speaking to each other, that does not mean that I hate you. I was angry at you and I didn't want to speak to you. What you had said further fueled my anger and I decided that I wanted to prove you and everyone else wrong; I wanted to prove that I could handle my own problems. I didn't want to be viewed as weak anymore. I was tired of being a shadow and I no longer wanted to be viewed as a lesser individual. So, I went to the library and retrieved a book on dark magic."

"You did what?" You interjected.

Loki lifted hand, "Please, Aurora, allow me to finish speaking. Then you can ask me what you wish."

"Very well then." You said.

Loki continued, "I began reading the book's contents and found that I picked up on the material rather quickly. I decided that I would use my aptitude for magic to my advantage and that is just what I did today. I used dark magic on Fandral, and unintentionally, on you as well. Before you are overwrought with anxiety, let me tell you that no serious harm has come to either of you. You are not possessed nor are you cursed."

"What do you mean you unintentionally used dark magic on me? How could you hit me with it by accident when you weren't even facing me?" You asked in disbelief.

"I can see that you do not believe me. Dark magic is very complicated to say the least. It requires an enormous amount of control, focus, and skill. While I have an aptitude for magic, I have much to learn in terms of controlling it. Apparently, with dark magic, when you direct it at someone, they must be the only person in your thoughts. If another person is in your mind, they too will be affected by the dark magic. When I was directing my magic at Fandral, as I'm sure you can guess by now, you were on my mind as well."

Loki looked at your stunned expression before he continued, "I was thinking about what transpired between us and how I wanted to apologize to you, but apparently dark magic does not distinguish between benevolent and malevolent thoughts. This is not the position I wanted to be in when I apologized to you for my actions the other night. Now, I am not only apologizing for being a poor friend, but also for hurting you with my own magic. Aurora, my friend," Loki said as he reached for your hand causing you to tense up slightly, "I understand why you are afraid of me. I am terrified of myself now too. I never wanted to hurt you and because I couldn't control the dark magic, you paid the price. I am truly, sincerely sorry for what I have done to you. I have never been so sorry in my entire life. Please, believe me."

You were alarmed at Loki's words because he made it sound like you were dying or something tragic like that.

"I thought you said I was going to be fine?" You asked shakily.

"You are fine, you are just a bit battered by the force that threw you back, but that is all." Loki responded.

"You made it sound like you had just sentenced me to death with your magic, don't be such a drama queen." You said firmly.

Loki fought back a smile and lost as a small grin crept onto his face, a genuine smile, not one of mischief.

"You're not supposed to smile! I'm still mad at you!" You yelled as you started laughing yourself.

"Well, you're doing a poor job of it." Loki chuckled.

"No! Shut up!" You exclaimed as you hit Loki in the arm.

"Owww. I shouldn't have done that." You said as you winced and grabbed your throbbing arm.

Loki's smile faded and was replaced by a firm line and another look of concern. "You really should take it easy and rest."

"I know. Okay Loki, I forgive you." You caved as you stared at your best friend who obviously cared very much about you despite the fight that had occurred between the two of you.

"Really?" Loki asked you as his eyes lit up.

You nodded. "I do. I couldn't stay mad at you forever; I need you in my life. I just wanted you to apologize to me and I'm sorry too. I imagine that you felt betrayed and as lonely as I did."

"I did, but none of that matters now. I forgive you too and I am just happy to have my best friend back." Loki smiled as he looked like he wanted to give you a hug but refrained from doing so because he was afraid of hurting you.

You smiled back, "Just give me a hug, I know you want to. I can take it."

Loki hugged you carefully, but you still winced slightly and as Loki went to pull back you pulled him back in close to you and said, "No, stay. It's a good kind of pain, I can handle it."

"If you say so." Loki said as he continued hugging you but eventually pulled back saying, "I think that I should let you rest now. The healing process will go much faster if you sleep."

"Okay, Loki. I will see you soon." You said.

Loki smiled at you from your doorway, "Sleep well, Aurora."

"Farewell, Loki." You smiled softly as he shut the door behind him.

This time, the door closed softly and did not slam like Loki's door had when the two of you last spoke. You and Loki had finally made amends and though you had gotten hurt by Loki in more ways than one, you were still able to forgive him because you still loved him and cared about him as your friend. You could tell that Loki was truly sorry and you fell asleep happy that you and Loki were finally friends again even though you had never really stopped being friends with him despite your fight.


	15. Chapter 15 (Childhood)

Hi everyone! This is the last childhood chapter which means the next update will be starting from the context of adolescence. From where I plan to begin it you can think of them as around age 17-18 to help with picturing them. I apologize for any small errors there might be because I wrote this at 4am on my iPod touch and then emailed it to myself. It should be okay though. I would normally respond to individual reviews, but I'm pretty tired right now so I thank everyone for their support so far and I'm glad the last chapter was good for everyone :) I can't wait to start writing Loki and Aurora as they get older!

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"Is it just me or is everyone staring at us?" you whispered in Loki's ear as you leaned over to him.

"No, it's not just you." Loki whispered back as he eyed the group of peers that were watching the two of you enter the dining hall.

Even Sif was eyeing you suspiciously along with the Warriors Three and other people around your age. You sighed as you realized that you were even more of an outcast than you were before.

"I guess we'll be sitting alone then." You muttered as the stares became more intense as you and Loki neared the table they were sitting at in the hall.

"You are with me, you are not alone." Loki replied as the two of took a seat a couple tables away from the others.

As soon as you and Loki sat down, the staring stopped as everyone began talking, most likely about you and Loki.

"Ignore them. I know what you are thinking." Loki said with a pleading gaze.

You sighed. "I want to know what they are saying about us."

"They are not saying anything original so you are not missing out." Loki scoffed.

Your eyes widened, "I forgot! You can read their minds! Tell me what they're saying!"

Loki rose an eyebrow at you causing you to reach over and shake his shoulders, "Please?!"

Loki chuckled slightly and said, "If it distresses you so much to be kept in the dark then I will oblige. The consensus is that I am an unstable psychopath and you are a mindless fool for putting yourself in harm's way by choosing to associate with me."

You scrunched up your face and shot a glare over at the table of people who had slandered you and Loki. You suddenly found yourself shouting over to them, "You know he can tell what you're all saying right?"

Everyone's head turned to face you as Loki buried his head in his hands.

"That's not possible!" Ingrid yelled back.

"No it's not! He can read all of your minds!" You yelled in anger.

Ingrid scoffed, "You're just as crazy as he is if you believe that."

You clenched your teeth and stood up saying, "If it's not possible then tell me how I know that you think he's an unstable psychopath and I'm a fool for putting myself in danger by being his friend?"

Ingrid closed her mouth and looked to the others for help. Fandral stood up next and stared at you with his black and puffy eye. Fandral spoke out saying, "You are a fool for being that close to him. He hurt you and he's only going to do it again. He's crazy and don't think I don't know you used your voodoo magic on me, Loki!"

Loki removed his head from his hands and stood up next to you. Loki spoke firmly, "Mind your tongue, Fandral. I do not appreciate you speaking poorly of Aurora and if you continue to do so, I will cut your tongue out of your mouth." Loki finished with a hiss as he drew one of his daggers.

"Woah!" Liv yelled as she slid to the farthest end of the table.

Hogun and Volstagg jumped up drawing their own weapons alongside Fandral prepared for a fight. You thought it was ridiculous that a fight was about to break out in the dining hall and you were worried because you knew that Loki was outnumbered. You would not be of any assistance to Loki in this fight so you weren't even counting yourself in the match; it was a one on seven fight. Loki's grasp tightened around the hilt of his dagger as he stared at the others. You were almost positive a fight was about to start when Thor walked into the hall and asked, "Are we going to have a practice session, my friends? The dining hall seems an odd place to do so, but very well!"

Thor picked up Mjolnir and looked ready to swing at someone when you yelled out, "No, Thor! We merely just heard a loud noise and it startled us all."

"Oh..." Thor said as if he were disappointed a fight was not occurring, "perhaps the noise was me. I was rather loud on my way over here."

"I don't doubt it." Loki muttered under his breath causing you to bite your lip to fight back a smile.

"It's not a problem, Thor." You said as everyone put away their weapons and became less hostile.

You were thankful that everyone had followed your lead, even though it was probably only to avoid angering Thor who would not take kindly to his brother being ganged up on by those he considered his friends. You were also astonished at how Thor was always absent whenever an altercation occurred and that he was not capable of detecting the tension that was certainly strong enough to be palpable. You could feel the tension in the air, but Thor presumably never could notice it.

"Thank you, Lady Aurora. How do my friends and brother all fare today?" Thor asked as he looked around smiling at each of you.

"Fine." The group replied a little too quickly which would have made most people suspicious, but not Thor.

"Excellent! What do you say we all go outside and enjoy the pleasant weather?" Thor inquired.

"I did not know it was nice outside." Liv remarked while cautiously eyeing Loki.

"It is indeed, Lady Liv. The temperature is comfortable and the sun is shining." Thor replied.

"We should go outside and enjoy the weather then." Liv spoke as she made suggestions with her eyes that everyone should agree.

You assumed that she was desperate to be in an open space and away from Loki which was why she wanted to go outside so she could run off if she needed to in order to avoid Loki. It was a strange sensation to be on the side of the person who was instilling fear especially when this person was usually the object of others' torments. You marveled at the change; Loki had slowly crept into the position of making the threats and wielding power over everyone else. While Loki was still smaller in stature than the other boys, his ability to do magic was an asset to him. You could not help but wonder if Loki should ever possess physical strength that he would be a dangerous enemy to have. Loki's mind made him dangerous, but to pair that with sheer physical power would significantly increase the leverage Loki would have over anyone who crossed him. You were on Loki's good side as his best friend and you hoped you would never get on his bad side because you could sense that times were changing. You wondered if this was what it felt like to leave childhood behind, to lose the shield of innocence and naivety that had protected you from seeing the truth; that goodness is not the only force in the universe.

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Loki's** POV**

The group of us began walking outside at the request of Thor. It truly astonished me that my brother could be so oblivious to his surroundings while I am always aware of what is going on. Sometimes I wonder how we can even be related. Even though Thor's lower level of perception frustrates me at times, I still love him. Even though he is favored over me by almost everyone, I still love him because it is not his fault that people like him better than me. I still wish that I could prove myself as Thor's equal, but in light of recent events, that did not seem possible. It seemed that even my victory at the mock mission in training had been completely forgotten. Every time I came close to redeeming myself my achievements were overshadowed by my shortcomings. I gritted my teeth at this as I realized that I was constantly in a bitter struggle between redemption and condemnation. I am frustrated because I do not want to fight such a battle anymore; I just want to be in a permanent state of acceptance. I feel as if I will never be graced with such a reward and as I walk out of the palace and onto the grounds next to Aurora, I realize that she is the closest I will ever come to acceptance and redemption. The sun shines down brightly on us and illuminates her hair and face. She looks so pure and innocent, nothing like me. I look down at my hands that had recently cast out dark magic and I realize that I am tainted, I am no longer an innocent child, but I have become exposed to darkness. I see Fandral turn around and shoot me a glare. I stare back at him until he turns around and I decide that my metamorphosis has only just begun.

I am not going to try and stop the darkness from pervading my life, as far as I am concerned, what little innocence is still inside of me will soon be stripped away. I almost feel sad at the thought, but then I remember how it felt to beat Fandral at his own craft and I smile to myself.

"_Perhaps I am better suited for this new lifestyle anyway_."


	16. Chapter 16 (Adolescence)

Hello everyone! This is the first chapter of what I'm going to call the adolescence phase. You can think of the main characters as being about 17 or 18 in this phase of the story. **Cougar rolypoly bug**: Thank you for your review! I wanted to have some subtle hints about Loki not being of Asgard in this story before I get to the portion in Thor where he actually finds out he's a Frost Giant. Thank you for your review :) I like writing their friendship, I wish I had a Loki in my life!

**A Wild Clover**: Thank you for your review! I love writing Thor's oblivious lines haha. Loki will certainly be quite different from the Loki she knew when they were younger! I posted this very late last time, and I wish I had time to update yesterday, but I didn't unfortunately :/

Here is chapter 16!

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The sun's rays were diminished by the clouds that had moved in front of it, casting a hazy gray light over Asgard. You emerged from your quarters after gazing out the window to find that even the corridor was cast in the same hazy light. Weather like this made you want to go back to bed, but you had to attend your final training session. You wouldn't exactly call it a training session anymore because you had learned and developed all the skills you were expected to learn over the years which would be tested in this final class that you were on your way to attending. Your final examination was today which would determine whether or not you were fit for real battle should Asgard ever need you to fight. Fortunately, no wars or major battles had occurred over the years that threatened Asgard. You knew that the peace would not last forever though and while you had greatly improved from when you were younger, you were still nervous about passing your examination. You were not interested in becoming a warrior, but you wanted to have the opportunity to defend your home if the occasion arose.

While your sword fighting skills were still your best asset in actual combat, you found your niche as Loki had once promised you would find. Your specialty was not in fighting with a weapon, but rather in evading blows or disarming attackers. You were adept at dodging advances made by even some of the fastest people in your class and were quite nimble. Your small frame allowed you to flip through the air and perform other aerial or terrestrial stunts. You were flexible enough to contort your body and twist in ways that no one else in the class could which allowed you to avoid getting struck in close combat and allowed you to disarm others from angles that were uncomfortable or impossible for them to sustain.

As you walked through the corridor toward the arena you wondered if your abilities would be enough to earn you a pass. While you had grown taller, you were still considerably shorter than everyone else in your class and your build was still slim. The only advantages that came with your size were your quickness and the fact that there was less of you to hit compared to everyone else.

You had finally reached the arena and were about to walk over to where everyone was seated waiting for Vali to arrive when you heard a voice from behind you say, "Are you anxious, Aurora?"

You quickly turned around to find Loki standing behind you with a slight smirk on his face.

"You know I always am, Loki." You responded as Loki laughed and shook his head.

You had to tilt your head up slightly to look Loki in the eye because his days of having a small stature were over. Shortly after leaving childhood in the past Loki had finally hit his stride; he had grown into a very tall and strong individual. Loki towered over you and almost everyone else in the palace. The only people who were close to Loki's height were Thor and Volstagg. Thor and Volstagg were still bulkier than Loki who was lean in comparison, but concealed a great deal of strength within his thin frame. No one would ever guess that Loki was as strong as he was because he appeared to be so thin, but Loki was the master of deceit and illusion. Loki not only gave off the illusion of frailty simply by his appearance, he was able to generate many other illusions by the use of magic. Not too long ago, Loki had become a master of magic and often used his abilities for mischief. The look of mischief was almost always in Loki's eyes and you had come to know the look very well. Even though Loki's dark hair had gotten longer he often kept it slicked back away from his face which provided a clear line of sight into his emerald eyes, the same eyes that were glinting down at you right now.

"You should not be so nervous," Loki spoke slowly as he walked closer to you, "you will pass, I assure you of that."

Loki now stood directly in front of you and you kept your eyes lifted up to meet his because if you kept your eyes level you would be staring at the portion of his armor that covered his chest which was not common courtesy when speaking to someone. You stared up at Loki and bit your lip.

"I hope you're right." You said to him.

"I do not doubt that I am right. Come now," Loki said as he outstretched his hand to you, "we better go inside before Vali arrives. You certainly do not want to be late for your last day, do you?"

"I suppose so." You laughed as you placed your hand in Loki's palm.

Loki curled his long, slender fingers over yours as his hand completely encompassed yours.

"Try not to crush my hand, please." You said jokingly.

Loki glanced over at you and winked, "You need not worry, what even makes you think I am capable of such a deed?"

"I know that you could, don't act like I don't know that you aren't the same as you were when we were children." You laughed lightly.

Loki smirked at you and replied, "While that is indeed true, I would not use my strength against you. You are my friend and I would surely break you if I did use it, even slightly."

"Hey! I am not that fragile! You're a liar, Loki!" You said as you feigned taking offense to Loki's statement.

Your words only elicited a laugh from Loki who squeezed your hand and said, "Think of me what you will, but I will not be testing your durability anytime soon."

You rolled your eyes, "I wouldn't want you to anyway. If you really did break me, I'd be very upset."

"As would I." Loki chuckled as the two of you walked into the arena and took the same spots you had sat in for years.

Some of the tension that existed among everyone when you were children had faded away, but you and Loki were still separate from the others. Fandral was still insufferable and Thor was still oblivious. Sif, who had once been a good friend of yours, had become extremely close with Thor and the Warriors Three. The two of you were on better terms than you had been when you yelled at her for not aiding Loki years ago when Fandral attacked him in the courtyard, but you were not as close as you once had been. Fandral had decreased his confrontations with Loki ever since Loki had gotten taller than him. You surmised that Fandral did not appreciate have to raise his eyes even slightly to meet Loki's gaze because it made him feel like he had lost some sort of power over Loki by being smaller than him, as if he had become inferior. You thought it was stupid, but you did have to admit that you felt intimidated by Loki's height. It was a bit scary having someone completely tower over you all the time, but you didn't fear Loki because you trusted him and felt safer with him around you.

"Greetings everyone!" Vali yelled as he walked into the arena.

"Hello, Vali!" You all yelled back.

Vali stopped walking and stood smiling at all of you as he said, "As I'm sure you all know, this is your last session with me. Try not to get too upset now," Vali laughed, "but this is the last time you are required to see me. Today I will be administering your final exam and your eligibility to fight for Asgard is contingent upon your passing of this exam. In order to pass, you must either beat the opponent you will be facing or perform satisfactorily in the battle. So, even if you lose, it is very likely that you will still pass as long as you put up a good fight."

You felt slightly better when Vali said that you didn't necessarily have to win to pass. You didn't think you would likely win a battle, so now if you just gave it your best try, you could still pass. You wouldn't be devastated if you didn't pass because your ambition wasn't to become a warrior, but you still wanted to feel like you were completely part of Asgard and that included the ability to fight in battle if you needed to, but you were planning to largely leave the fighting behind. You would only fight if a situation called for it, but you wanted to be allowed to defend Asgard instead of watching hopelessly from the sidelines.

"First up, Loki and Hogun!" Vali called out.

"Time to wrap this up." Loki said as he stood up next to you.

"Good luck!" You said to Loki who looked down at you and smiled.

"Luck will have nothing to do with it."

You rolled your eyes and laughed, "Don't be too confident."

Loki winked at you as he jumped down to the ground and walked over to the arena where Vali and Hogun stood. You found it amusing that the person who used to be the shortest was now about a head taller than both Hogun and Vali.

"Shake hands, you two." Vali instructed as Loki and Hogun shook hands and retreated to opposite sides of the room.

"On my count, you will begin the battle and may employ anything you have learned, but do not do anything that would kill the other person. In order to win you must be able to pin the other individual down onto the ground for a total of ten seconds. Are these rules clear?" Vali asked.

Loki and Hogun nodded.

"Then good luck. 3…2…1!" Vali counted and then stepped out of harm's way.

Hogun drew his sword as Loki made a golden staff materialize out of thin air. Hogun advanced towards Loki as Loki stood still with his staff in hand. As Hogun neared Loki, he drew out his sword to strike at Loki. As Hogun brought down his sword he hit nothing but air. Hogun turned around confused, but was quickly smacked to the ground by Loki who had reappeared behind Hogun. Hogn quickly rolled over and swung his sword at Loki's ankles, but Loki jumped into the air to avoid being hit. Hogun jumped up and began swinging at Loki who used his staff to block Hogun's swings. Hogun was pushing Loki back towards the wall which Loki must have sensed because after blocking one of Hogun's blows, he forcefully pushed his staff back against Hogun, knocking him onto his back with his sheer strength. Loki stood over Hogun about to push his staff down on Hogun to hold him in place but Hogun thrust his sword up in an attempt to keep Loki's staff from descending any further. Hogun was shaking as he tried to use all of his strength to keep Loki from winning. Loki kept pushing the staff down, however, as it got closer to Hogun's armor. Sensing that he was going to lose if he remained in his current position, Hogun kept his sword in contact with Loki's staff as he swung his legs out to knock Loki off his balance. Loki came crashing down to the ground and Hogun seized the opportunity to try and pin Loki down with his hands rather than the tip of his sword. Hogun had pinned Loki down, but by the time Vali had gotten to five on his count, Loki smirked and dissipated into the air. Hogun was still looking at the place where Loki had once been when he was forced onto the ground face first by some force behind him. Loki had his staff in one hand and kept his large boot on Hogun's back as he calmly stood there with only his foot to keep Hogun pinned down. Hogun laid still until Vali got to five, at which point he began struggling underneath Loki's boot. Hogun twisted and turned his head, but was unable to move his body enough underneath Loki's weight. Loki wasn't very heavy, but he wielded an enormous amount of strength in his lean body that rendered Hogun immobile.

"Ten! That's it! Loki is the winner and has passed the exam!" Vali called out as Loki removed his foot from Hogun's back and helped him up.

"I am also granting Hogun a pass so he too, will be able to fight on behalf of Asgard!" Vali called out.

Loki patted Hogun on the back with a large hand and said, "Congratulations."

"You too." Hogun said as the two of them returned to their seats.

"Congratulations, Loki!" You exclaimed as you hugged Loki when he returned next to you.

Loki chuckled and wrapped his long arms around you and said, "Thank you. I was rightly confident, was I not?"

"Don't rub it in." You urged with a laugh.

"Very well." Loki replied as he released you and the two of you watched the remaining battles.

Ingrid faced Sif and lost dreadfully, failing the exam. Ingrid didn't care though, and was all too happy to leave. You were relieved that Ingrid failed because if you failed your exam, you wouldn't be the only one. Volstagg lost to Thor, but both passed the exam and no hard feelings were shared between the two friends. Liv went against Kari and failed the exam. Like Ingrid, she too exited the area. Gunner faced Canute and won because of his sheer size and muscle mass; both moved on, however. Agmund battled against Ivar which was a truly amazing battle, with Ivar shooting arrows and Agmund deflecting them with his sword. The battle was very close, but Agmund won. Vali applauded their battle and stated the obvious, that both would pass the exam. Finally, Fandral faced Ragnvald the strategist, and lost. You enjoyed seeing Fandral lose, but he still passed the exam which you expected anyway.

"The only person who has yet to fight is Aurora and even though she had already fought, you will be facing Kari. Kari has already earned a pass so even if she loses to you, she is still permitted to participate in battle. However, since she has already fought and is weaker because of it, you must beat her in order to pass this exam. If you lose, you fail." Vali instructed to you as your eyes widened.

You supposed it was only fair since Kari was tired from facing Liv, but this put a lot of pressure on you. The only way to pass was to win; you could not be saved from your performance if it was good enough despite losing. Your only hope was to win. You had suddenly become very anxious. You felt a cold hand cover your wrist and you turned to your right to come face to face with Loki.

"You can do this." He reassured you.

You took a deep breath and responded, "I don't know, Loki. I thought I could, but now I'm not so confident."

"Nonsense," Loki shook his head, "You are better than you think you are, now go out there and win."

"I guess I don't have a choice but to go out there anyway." You sighed.

"I believe in you." Loki smiled as you stood up.

"Good, because I don't." You smiled shyly as you walked to the center of the room where Vali and Kari stood.

Kari was tall and thin so while she had a height advantage over you, she didn't have a lot of weight to throw you around with which was good. You were fast, but so was she. The only possible advantage you could think of was that she would probably be slower since she had recently battled Liv, and that you were skilled at evasive movements. You stood on your side of the room as Vali began the countdown. When he reached one, Kari stood still as if she were waiting for you to make the first move. You knew that this was probably because she was trying to conserve her energy. However, you didn't feel like standing still until she decided to move, so you took her bait and moved forward. You ran quickly as Kari began to run towards you with his sword drawn. You hadn't drawn any weapons yet, but continued to rush forward. As Kari swung to hit you with her sword, you dodged to the left and quickly dropped to the ground and rolled forward, crashing into her leg.

Kari fell to the ground with a yelp as you kicked the sword away from her. Kari reacted quickly however and swiped at your ankles causing you to fall. Kari scrambled for her sword and retrieved it. She made her way back over to you as struck at you but you rolled away before she could hit you. She kept swinging at you and you kept rolling away. Eventually, you go up and were panting heavily. Kari was breathing heavily as well and you weren't sure who would grow too tired first. You started running towards her again as Kari raised her sword. You weren't sure this maneuver was going to work, but you wanted to try it anyway. As you came close to Kari, you slid across the ground and grabbed hold of her sword and used it to propel yourself upwards as you flipped backwards and over Kari's head, using your legs to bring her down with you. Kari looked completely stunned by what you did that she didn't know how to react as you held her down. You couldn't believe it when Vali announced that you had won and passed your exam.

You were out of breath as you rolled off of Kari and lay on the ground next to her.

"That was a really good move." Kari said to you.

"Thanks," you breathed, "I wasn't sure it was going to work."

"Well, it did and congratulations." Kari said as she got up and offered a hand to help you up.

"No thanks," you waved your hand, "I think I'm just going to lay here a while and try not to die from shortage of breath."

Kari laughed and said, "Okay, suit yourself."

Vali walked over and eyed you curiously, "Are you okay, Aurora?"

You looked up at Vali and offered him a smile, "I'm okay; I just need to rest here a little. Feel free to leave me here."

Vali looked puzzled as he said slowly, "Well, okay, if you insist. Congratulations on passing the exam."

"Thank you, Vali." You replied as he nodded at you and walked away.

You closed your eyes and continued breathing as you lay down on the ground. You could hear the footsteps of your former classmates leaving the room, but what you didn't hear were the footsteps that belonged to Loki as he walked towards you.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were dead."

"Gods, Loki! You startled me! Why do you walk so silently?" You asked as you sat up quickly.

Loki looked down at you with an amused look on his face, "If I make noise when I walk, how am I going to sneak up on anyone?"

"You don't need to sneak up on me though!" You huffed as you placed your hand over your chest.

"You have my sincerest apologies." Loki said as he bowed.

"You are not forgiven." You said as you crossed your arms.

"Oh? I am not?" Loki asked as he raised an eyebrow at you.

You shook your head with your arms still crossed. Loki's eyes shined down at you with that mischievous glint in them.

"What are you going to-" You began to ask before Loki quickly lifted you up over his shoulder cutting your off.

Loki held you in place on his shoulder with one arm as he walked out of the room. You squirmed under his hold in a futile attempt to escape. You could feel the muscles move underneath Loki's shoulder as he carried you out into the corridor.

"Put me down this instant!" You yelled as you pounded on his back with your fists.

All your pounding did was earn a laugh from Loki.

"You know I hate being picked up!" You yelled to the empty space behind Loki's shoulder since that was all you could see.

"That is precisely the reason why I do it." Loki said with a chuckle.

"You are so…rude!" You huffed as you finally stopped trying to wiggle free from his grip.

"Me, rude?" Loki sucked in a breath feigning offense.

"Yes, you! You are denying the requests of what a lady wants and that is rude!" You said with a slight laugh.

You weren't able to move your head to see Loki's face, but you could lift it slightly only to be level with his head and glancing to the left, you could see Loki's black hair and you smirked to yourself. You lifted your left hand and quickly covered Loki's eyes with your hand.

"Oh, Aurora, now I can't see where I'm going! That isn't going to help either of us." Loki reacted.

"I won't remove my hand from your eyes until you agree to put me back down safely on the ground where I belong!" You yelled thinking you had outwitted Loki.

"Really now, Aurora?" Loki asked as he stopped walking.

"Yes, really." You replied with your hand still over his eyes.

"Very well then, if you remove your hand from my face I will put you back down." Loki said.

"Good, I knew you'd see it my way." You said as you removed your hand from his eyes.

"Later." Loki said.

"Later? What do you mean later? You tricked me!" You exclaimed as you started to struggle underneath his arm again.

Loki laughed so hard that his shoulder shook and you groaned in frustration.

You suddenly felt Loki's arm slide slowly across your back as he curled his fingers underneath you and picked up with ease. Loki lifted you off of his shoulder and brought you around to face him. Loki held you in front of him with one arm, keeping you suspended about a foot from the ground. Loki was grinning at you mischievously as you crossed your arms and glared back at him.

"You think you're funny, holding my captive when you know I can't escape." You said as you stared into your best friend's bright emerald eyes.

"I find it humorous how you try to escape when you know you can't." Loki smiled.

"One day I will!" You exclaimed as you pointed a finger at him.

"Right, right. I am sure you will." Loki chuckled.

"I'm serious! It just won't be today because I'm too tired to fight against your hold since I just passed my exam." You spoke.

"That's right. You did a wonderful job, I'm proud of you, Aurora. I never did give you my congratulatory hug." Loki said as he brought you closer to him and wrapped his other arm around you in an embrace.

You hugged Loki back with your feet still not touching the ground. Loki leaned down so you could find your footing as he released you, placing you back on the ground.

"Finally." You huffed once your feet hit the ground.

Loki laughed, "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Well, I knew you wouldn't drop me, but still, it's scary being up so high." You responded.

"It really isn't so scary." Loki replied as the two of you walked down the corridor.

"That's easy for you to say because you're just tall, and your feet are still on the ground whereas I'm short and not accustomed to being so high up from the ground." You explained.

"You'll get used to it." Loki winked at you.

"Oh no! You will not be lifting me like that on a daily basis! I won't have it!" You warned Loki.

Loki laughed at your threats as he said, "How about we discuss your demands over at the dining hall?"

"Discuss we shall." You said as you took your best friend's hand and led him into the dining hall with you.


	17. Chapter 17(Adolescence)

Greetings, readers! This is chapter 17 and I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I love reading, going to the library and bookstores, which is something that I feel Loki would also like to do. I wanted to do a library scene before, but didn't have a definitive idea for it. I had an idea emerge a few hours ago so I've put that idea to use in this chapter. This is a pretty lighthearted chapter for Loki and Aurora.

There is a small mythological reference in this chapter when you get to meet Aurora's mom near the end!

**A Wild Clover**- I molded their friendship after the type of close friendships that sometimes seem like the two are in a relationship when they really aren't. Aurora and Loki are close enough to act in such a manner, but Loki and Aurora do not view each other that way, just very close :) Thank you for your review, as always! This update was pretty soon, I think :)

**Cougar rolypoly bug**- I wish I had Loki in my life :( I am also glad that you like my OC enough to want to have a friendship with her as well :) I like writing their friendship in that light, I always thought that Loki needed a good friend in his life. Thank you for your review and the wait was pretty short for this update I think!

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After trying to reach a consensus in the dining hall about the frequency with which you might be forced to leave the comfort of the ground, you and Loki decided to visit the library. You were always in awe of the library whenever you entered it. The library's entrance was a massive mahogany colored wooden door with gold embellishments on it that were woven in intricate spiral patterns. Behind the opulent doors was an impressive display of various tomes that varied in size, color, texture, and topic. There were several floors in the library that were devoted to various disciplines such as history, literature, magic, law, astronomy, religion and mythology of other cultures, guidebooks, and many others. You had visited each section at least once, but you were most intrigued by the sections on law, literature, history, and astronomy. The historical and literary sections included select works of the other realms which you wanted to learn more about since you desired to visit them someday. It was indisputable that Asgard had the most impressive library of all the nine realms, even greater than the many libraries on Midgard combined. The library in Asgard was so impressive that there only needed to be one library, not countless libraries like those on Midgard. Occasionally, when Odin or another high ranking figure in Asgard traveled to a different realm they brought back some type of book with them to add to the collection.

Loki of course, was most interested in the magic section which was where he spent a lot of his time when he wasn't with you, or even times when the two of you were together. You both enjoyed going to the library so the two of you would often go there to find books that interested the two of you that would be read while enjoying each other's company, even when there was silence. That's how you knew your friendship with Loki was strong, you and Loki didn't need to speak to feel comfortable and at ease. There were never any awkward silences between the two of you and you both shared a lot of similarities which made it easy for you both to relate to each other.

You navigated through the numerous bookcases that were located throughout the library on the first floor alone to find a book in the literature section under the Midgardian category that was titled _The Inferno_. After scanning the first few pages, you decided that you would read it and see if it was any good. You also picked up a work called _The Song of Roland_before walking up the marble steps to the second floor where the history section was located. Once there, you took books on Midgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim. Lastly, you decided to make a trip up to the sixth floor which is where the books on law were kept. You picked up a few books on this level before heading down to the third floor which was devoted to books magic to find Loki. You tried to read as much about law as possible because it was an area that fascinated you and wanted to be involved in law on Asgard one day. You knew that you were inspired from a very young age by your encounters with the god Forseti who had instilled a strong sense of justice and morality within you that was deeply ingrained in you to this day. Minding the books in your arms as you weaved in and out of the aisles looking for Loki, you spotted his tall frame in front of a bookcase as he reached a long arm up to the top shelf to pull what looked to be a heavy book out.

"If I wanted to read that book, I'd be out of luck because I'd never be able to reach it." You said softly as you neared Loki.

Loki looked up from the cover of the book in his hand and smiled at you, "I'd be more than happy to help you if there is a particular tome that is out of your reach."

"Thank you, Loki. I will alert you if I require your assistance." You smiled back as you looked down at the book in his hand.

Loki noticed that you were looking at the book and easily turned the cover towards you with one hand despite the size of the book as he said, "The Magic of the Nine Realms is what it's called."

"No wonder it's such a large book; it contains information on different types of magic in each realm?" You asked.

Loki nodded, "Precisely. Apparently, each realm has a different definition for what constitutes magic and what that magic is capable of doing. I did not even know that Midgard possessed magic at all."

"I didn't either, but you'll be knowledgeable about it once you read that entire book which will take even you awhile, I think." You confessed.

"I think you may be right," Loki agreed as he turned the book on its side with a slight turn of his wrist to look at the bulk of pages, "this is quite a thick book."

"I don't even know how you're holding it with one hand, I'm not sure that I could do that." You said eyeing the presumably heavy book in Loki's hand.

"Here," Loki offered the book to you, "give it a try, but do not drop it as it will make a racket."

You eyed the book carefully before lifting your eyes to meet Loki's. Then, you placed the books you had selected on the floor next to you.

"Okay…if you say so…" You trailed off as you reached out for the book with one hand.

As you grabbed the book you found that the book was so thick that you couldn't even hold it from the side with one hand because the book was larger than your hand was with your fingers completely outstretched. You quickly moved your other hand underneath the book to support it before it fell to the floor.

"That was close." You breathed.

"Indeed. I would have caught it before it hit the floor though." Loki spoke.

"You should have told me that before so I could avoid having a near anxiety attack over dropping the book and getting us thrown out of here!" You whisper yelled.

Loki laughed, "I am glad that you remembered to use your indoor library voice even when you are yelling at me."

"I almost forgot to, but good thing I didn't. Here," You presented the book to Loki with both hands, "take your book back. I can barely hold it even with two hands. I swear, it must way about half as much as I do."

Loki took the book back from you with one hand and reached for another book high up on the shelf to place on top of the large book.

"Show off." You grunted as you picked up your books off the floor.

Loki stared at you with a glint in his eyes, "You think me pompous eh? I would be boasting if I held all of your books in one hand as well as my own."

You rolled your eyes, "I might as well allow you to have your fun. Who am I to deny you the opportunity to be pompous, as you worded it?"

Loki lowered his hand so that you could place your books on top of the two that were already in his hand. You eyed Loki cautiously as he nodded, signaling for you to proceed, which you did. You placed each of the eight books you had been struggling to carry one by one on top of Loki's books. Each time you placed a book on the stack, you glanced at Loki to see if it was okay to continue, which it was for each of the eight books you put in his hand.

"Well then, it seems that I have run out of books to burden you with and you have successfully shown off your ability to hold a stack of heavy books in the palm of your hand. I am truly honored to be in your presence, oh Presumptuous One." You said as you made a show of bowing in sarcasm.

Loki shook with laughter as he struggled to keep his laughter at a low volume. Loki ended up having to cover his mouth with his free hand to stifle his laughter while balancing the books in his other hand.

"I thank you for the compliment, Lady Aurora." Loki finally managed to say with a sly grin.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all, good sir. Let's see how much you have to flaunt when I do this!" You whisper yelled once again as you quickly took a book off the shelf nearest to you and placed it on top of the growing stack of books in Loki's hand.

Loki's hand did not drop in altitude at all despite the additional weight. You frowned at this because you wanted to beat Loki at his own game. Loki looked down at you in amusement as you grabbed a few more books and glared at him. Loki's emerald eyes shone under the glow of the lanterns that illuminated the library as he looked at you, finding your game humorous.

"What, may I ask, are you doing?" Loki asked with a chuckle.

"There has to be a limit to how many books you can hold in the palm of your hand before it becomes too heavy for you and I want to find that limit!" You exclaimed in a semi-loud whisper as you placed another book on top of the pile in Loki's hand.

Loki snickered and said, "Soon I think you are going to require some form of vertical assistance should you wish to continue your quest to continue to build a tower of tomes on my hand."

You sighed as you placed another book on Loki's hand, dismayed as you saw that his hand still did not move under the added weight.

"I think I've already reached that point since I can't seem to reach the top of the pile."

Loki outstretched his other hand said, "Give me the books and I will continue to place them on top until even I cannot reach the top anymore. Then you really will require a ladder or something."

"No! I want to stack the books; you can't do it for me!" You yelled in a defensive whisper.

Loki raised his free hand in defense as he said, "No harm done, I swear."

You laughed at Loki's reaction as you said, "I think I require that ladder now. Where can I find one?"

"Do not waste your time looking; I can help you with that." Loki said as he twisted his wrist like you had seen him do before and sure enough, Loki conjured a ladder in front of you.

"That is certainly a handy trick." You remarked as you stepped onto the ladder.

With each step you took, you placed books that you could reach onto the growing mountain of books in Loki's hand until you could no longer reach the top anymore and had to move up to the next step. You couldn't help but laugh at yourself as you reached the fifth step and looked down at the floor and the stack of books that blocked you from seeing Loki's face.

Hearing your laughter, you heard Loki's voice from behind the books say, "Are you laughing at the immaturity of this game of yours? I sure am."

"Oh, hush, Loki! You know it's fun!" You said as you placed another book on the pile.

"I think you should stop because clearly, I am not going to give way anytime soon." Loki said.

"That's exactly what you would say if you felt like you couldn't hold the books anymore! I must be getting close!" You exclaimed as you reached for another book and almost lost your balance as you leaned over to place it on the enormous stack of books that Loki was holding with one hand.

"Aurora! Please be careful! If you fall, these books will fall as well as myself and I assure you, that will be very loud and painful!" Loki exclaimed in concern as you teetered back and forth before regaining your balance on the ladder.

"I regained my balance, don't worry so much! I think you forgot to use your indoor library voice, Loki." You noted as you put yet another book on top of the stack.

"I think this is getting a bit ridiculous, Aurora. This is not safe at all and I am not saying that because these books are too heavy, I assure you of that." Loki said from behind the tower of books.

"Just one more, please? This looks so incredible; I've never seen anything like it before." You said in amazement.

"That is because no one has been crazy enough to attempt to do something like this." Loki replied.

"That's only because no one has ever been as ingenious and adventurous as me in this library while no one has been as strong as you apparently are to support all of these books in your hand." You said as you reached for a final book.

"Yes, yes, that is all well and good, but-"

"What in the realm eternal are the two of you doing!?" A voice rang out, completely ignoring the use of the indoor library voice.

You almost dropped the book you were holding in surprise as you turned around to see your mother standing there with her mouth wide open in shock.

"Oh…greetings, mother." You said timidly as your face flushed crimson.

"Aurora, what are you doing on top of that ladder stacking a…tower of books like this?!" Your mother asked, still speaking very loudly.

"Mother, if I may, I think you should use your indoor library voice." You said which earned a small snicker form Loki behind the books.

Your mother turned to walk around the tower and stood next to Loki. Loki turned to face her and offered her a small smile which she did not return.

"Did you let my daughter talk you into this, Loki?" Your mother asked.

Loki's smile faded as he lowered his eyes to avoid her inquisitive gaze. "Yes, goddess Idun."

Your mother rolled her eyes as she walked away from Loki and turned to stare up at you on the ladder in disappointment and mild anger. "Aurora, come down from there this instant."

You nodded, but before you descended the ladder, you smiled slyly and placed the final book on top of the pile completing your tower.

"Did you really, Aurora?" You heard Loki's voice inquire from behind the tower.

"So you can feel the weight after all." You said as you climbed down the ladder.

"I never said I could not feel you putting more books on the pile, it just does not affect me or cause me any strain." Loki replied.

"I guess you won this round then." You said.

"Oh no! There will not be any more rounds of this! Aren't you too old for these antics, Aurora?" Your mother asked.

You bit your lip and pondered about your mother's question for a moment before answering, "No, of course not. I'm still young by Asgardian standards and even when I am not, I will always be young at heart. You of all people should know that, mother."

Your mother looked taken aback at your words and answered, "Just because I am the goddess of spring, youth, and immortality does not mean that there isn't a time to grow up and leave juvenile antics behind."

You narrowed your eyes at your mother and replied, "This wasn't an antic, it was just an experiment."

"Whatever you choose to call this exploit of yours, I do not approve of it and you must put these books back to their original places at once." Your mother said firmly.

You gaped at her, "Are you serious, mother? There are so many of them and I don't even know where they all came from! How am I supposed to put them back?"

"You should have thought of that before you made a mess of the library, sweetheart." Your mother replied adding a sentimental nickname at the end, as if that lessened your punishment in some way.

Before you could reply, however, all of the books except the ones that you and Loki had originally picked out to peruse disappeared along with the ladder. You could now see Loki once again who had smiled at you and then turned his attention to your mother.

"I have returned all of the books that were specifically removed from the shelves for the sole purpose of constructing the literary tower to their rightful places. I apologize for participating in this endeavor when I should have used my better judgment to prevent this from escalating as far as it did." Loki spoke smoothly.

Your mother smiled at Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder as she gently patted his shoulder, "Thank you for your help, Loki. I am happy to see that you are using your magic for good."

Loki smiled back at her with his emerald eyes shining.

Your mother turned to you as she said, "If this happens again, I will have you put the books back individually without the help of Loki's magic. Consider yourself lucky, Aurora. Behave yourself now please, I will see you later."

"Farewell, mother." You said as she walked away from you and Loki.

You turned to face Loki who was already sitting on the floor with the book that started it all open on his lap. You sighed heavily as you sat down next to him and pulled _The Inferno_onto your lap.

"Thanks for sweet talking my mother, Silvertongue. I don't even care if that has an inappropriate connotation, but it better never have a reason to have one!" You said pointing a finger at Loki.

Loki didn't look up from his book, but smiled, "You have my word, Aurora. I was merely using my skills to help us both out of an unsatisfactory situation."

"Thank the gods you did. Now, I'm finally going to read my books." You said as you opened the Midgardian book.

"No complaints here." Loki smiled as he turned the page of the obscenely long book that you now blamed for tempting you to construct a literary tower on Loki's palm in the library of Asgard, an exploit you would never partake in again.


	18. Chapter 18 (Adolescence)

Hello everyone! This is chapter 18 and there are a couple other names from mythology mentioned here. Holler is the god of death, destruction, disease, and disaster while Laga is the goddess of wells and springs. There is an innocent Loki prank in this chapter :)

**Cougar rolypoly bug**: This one wasn't as fast as I wanted it to be, but two days is still pretty good, I hope! Harry Potter is one of my favorite series, probably my favorite series ever! Including that in the previous chapter was an anachronism though, so I definitely had to fix that. I'm going to include it in a later chapter though, when the timing coincides with Midgard having had the appearance of Harry Potter :) Thank you :)

**A Wild Clover**: Oh definitely! Yeah, Idun's parental instincts slightly overshadowed her demeanor in this chapter. Goodness...I'm actually glad you mentioned Harry Potter in your review; that anachronism should not be there! That's what I get for writing most of my chapters around 4am because I can't sleep. Thank you for pointing that out- I altered it slightly and used two books that might possibly coincide better with the time frame. I'm not sure how to put their time with that of Midgardian centuries, but judging by their childhood and how they age differently than we do, I made an estimate of the era and for the purposes of the time in Midgard in this story, right now I'm considering it as around 1400 AD or so for Midgard as an estimate. It is a great series :) HERE IS MORE, I WISH TO AVOID THE SMITING! Thank you for your review :)

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"How far did you get in that dreaded book?" You asked Loki as the two of you walked out of the library.

Loki chuckled, "Don't insult the book; it didn't act of its own accord to get you into trouble. As for how much of it I was able to read, I finished it."

"You must be joking with me, Loki. There is no way you finished that book!" You exclaimed in disbelief.

"I am not fooling you, Aurora. I read very quickly, you know that." Loki replied.

"I know you do, but I didn't think you could read that fast." You shook your head in astonishment.

"How was that book from Midgard that you read?" Loki asked you.

"It was rather vivid, and slightly graphic. While some parts were mildly disturbing, I liked it. It's based on the religion known as Christianity and its structure of the afterlife." You answered.

"I've read a couple books on the topic of Christianity. You mean hell, purgatory, and heaven I presume?" Loki asked as he looked down at you.

You nodded. "Yes, those realms. I read the first book in the trilogy, which was about travelling through hell; that's why the literature was so…creepy."

"I see. Do you plan on reading the other two?" Loki asked you as you both continued walking down the corridor.

"I already started the adventure; of course I have to finish it!" You exclaimed with a laugh.

Loki laughed along with you, "I suspected as much."

"Anyway, I'm glad you bailed me out of putting all of those books back. I'm sure my mother would have made you put them back by hand too." You said.

Loki shook his head, "There is no way I will ever put back a large amount of literature without magic, even when dealing with an irate god or goddess."

"Speak for yourself," You began, "I rather not invoke the wrath of any god or goddess, even if they are my parent."

Loki turned to face you, "I would not be invoking them, I would merely create the illusion that I am doing what they wish, while in reality, I have already finished the task by using magic."

"Loki!" You exclaimed, "You can't just deceive gods or goddesses like that!"

Loki snickered, "Who says that I cannot?"

"Uh…I do! It's not possible…they would know immediately that you were deceiving them!" You said quickly.

Loki raised an eyebrow and smiled down at you with his eyes as the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a wide smile.

"Oh no," you pointed your finger at Loki, "I know that look. You are not getting into mischief."

Loki's eyes twinkled brightly at the mention of mischief as he spread his arms out wide and said, "Do not fret, Aurora, you need not be involved in my mischief. I will orchestrate the demonstration myself; you just watch and see that I am capable of deceiving a god or goddess."

You shook your head furiously, "This is a bad idea, Loki."

"I fail to see what the cause for worry is here." Loki replied.

You looked at Loki in shock that he seemed to miss the glaringly obvious cause for worry.

"Loki, how do you not understand that if you get caught, you will be punished for tricking a god or goddess?" You asked sternly.

"Oh, it is not that I do not comprehend the repercussions of what will result if I fail to properly conceal myself," Loki said smoothly, "but the key word is 'if'; only if I am caught I will be punished and trust me when I say, I will not get caught." Loki winked at you.

You groaned and threw your hands up in defeat, "Fine, you win. You're so stubborn that no matter how I try to reason with you, you're going to do whatever you please anyway."

"I do what I want, Aurora, you know that." Loki chuckled as he squeezed you tightly and then released you.

"Clearly." You rolled your eyes.

"Now," Loki tapped his long and slender fingers against his chin, "who should be my target?"

"I hope you are talking aloud to yourself and not asking me to help you in your ploy." You grumbled.

"It matters not to me whether or not you want to help me choose my target, for I will choose one anyway. Do not worry though, should you help me choose one, you will not take the fall for any of what I do." Loki spoke.

"Really? How can I be so sure?" You asked with your arms folded.

"You have my word." Loki bowed and then straightened himself again up to his full height.

You chuckled as you shook your head smiling up at Loki, "Very well sir, I will take you at your word."

"I had a feeling you would. Now, help me find a suitable target!" Loki urged as the two of you entered the main area of the palace.

"I do not advise that you choose to prank Vali or my mother." You offered.

"I was not considering targeting either of them I assure you." Loki replied.

"Good, because my mother is most likely already in a poor mood after discovering us in the library with that tower today and she does not need you tricking her." You said.

"I should probably also avoid Holler, as I would rather not be plagued with illness." Loki grimaced.

"That would be wise." You nodded.

"Hmm…" Loki said placing his index finger against his cheek and his thumb under his chin as the two of you stood against the large stone wall in the center of the palace, "I have to ponder this a moment."

"Take all the time you need. I'm tired." You said as you leaned against the wall and slumped down to the floor.

Loki remained standing as he thought in silence for a moment before snapping his fingers, "Got it! Come with me!"

"What? Loki, where are we going?!" You asked loudly as Loki grabbed your hand and pulled you with him through the palace.

"Outside; I know who I wish to use my magic on to prank them." Loki called back to you as he continued running through the palace with you in tow.

"Okay, okay, but you can let go of my arm or at least run a little slower!" You yelled.

"Shh, you will blow our cover." Loki whispered as he came to a stop.

"Blow our cover? I still don't know who you are planning to prank." You whispered back.

Loki pointed out onto the grounds to a woman who was tending to the spring that ran from underneath the palace. The woman near the water was the goddess Laga, she tended to the wells and springs and was also King Odin's closest friend. Your eyes went wide when you noticed who she was.

"You can't be serious, Loki," You hissed, "she's King Odin's friend, your father, or have you forgotten?"

Loki responded to you without peering away from around the wall, "I have not forgotten, Aurora, but I think this would be the perfect opportunity to play my prank."

"Loki, what has Laga ever done to you?" You asked him as you pulled on his sleeve.

"She hasn't done anything wrong in my eyes, but that is not why I am doing this. My prank is not a punishment, it's just fun." Loki said as he finally turned to face you.

"What if you hurt her though?" You asked Loki as you glanced at Laga who seemed blissfully unaware of Loki's plan.

"No harm is going to come to her, I assure you. It's just a harmless prank, honestly." Loki responded, his eyes bright at the prospect of trickery.

"You better not hurt her, she's kind and is close with your father so he will find out it was you if you do something bad to her." You said firmly.

Loki smiled at you reassuringly, "I'm not going to hurt her; I have no malicious intentions here."

"You better not be lying." You pressed.

"I swear I am not, now just watch." Loki said as you complied.

Loki peered out from behind the cover of the palace wall to get a better view of Laga. Loki waved his hand to the side when Laga placed her hand back into the water. Slowly, you noticed that the water began to turn the color of a deep red wine. Soon, the natural color of the water had been completely replaced with red which alarmed Laga. Laga stumbled backwards in surprise as she grasped her wrist with her other hand. Red droplets of water cascaded from her hand and onto the ground.

"Loki, you've frightened her!" You whisper yelled.

Loki chuckled slightly, "She's not that scared. I just turned the water red; it is not a major issue."

You glared at Loki, "No, you only just happened to turn the water the color of blood. That's not alarming at all."

"I considered turning it a dark green, but green would not have had as big of an impact as red." Loki responded.

Laga had stopped clutching her wrist and shakily stood to her feet as she peered into the water from a distance.

"Should I-" Loki began before you cut him off saying, "No, do not conjure something to pop up out of the water at her."

Loki sighed, "You know me too well."

"The glint in your eyes that you get gives you away every time as if that weren't enough." You retorted.

Laga started pacing back and forth along the water's edge, obviously perplexed. Laga began to rub her eyes which Loki decided was the perfect time to quickly change the water back to normal. Loki waved his hand again and the red water was gone. When Laga opened her eyes again, she looked down in shock at the clear water before her. You could barely see her mouth move and you figured that she was saying something like "How?" or "What just happened?". You would be asking yourselves the same questions if you hadn't known that Loki was the one causing the water to change colors.

Laga scratched her head in confusion and continued tending to the water as if nothing had ever happened. Loki pulled himself off of the wall and turned to face you with a slight grin on his face.

"See?" he asked, "No harm done, just slight confusion and mild fright, she's fine." Loki added.

You looked at Laga who did appear to be alright, but you still had misgivings about Loki using his magic for trickery.

"Yes, but I worry that you will let your abilities go to your head." You admitted.

Loki looked taken aback, "I'm not an evil person, Aurora."

"No, no," you responded quickly, "I never said you were, gods, I don't want you to ever think I meant it that way. I just don't want you to take these tricks too far, okay?" You asked reaching for his hand.

Loki looked down at your small hand holding his in earnest and then back up at you. Loki smiled at you softly and said, "I promise you I won't."

You smiled back at him because you believed him. You trusted Loki's word more than anyone else's in the palace and you knew that Loki cared too much about you to lie to you.


	19. Chapter 19 (Adolescence)

Hi everyone! This was supposed to be up earlier, but my laptop has been misbehaving lately so that delayed the posting of this chapter. Perhaps my laptop does not like the weather that has been going on around here lately; Thor should really clam down with the thunder and lightning. It's supposed to continue into next week here too so he must be pretty angry about something...

Anyway, I want to thank my new story followers as well as my silent readers! I haven't forgotten about the rest of you! And of course, **A Wild Clover **and **Cougar rolypoly bug**! I have to agree with both of you about both Loki and Aurora. Aurora will have to get used to Loki's antics because they will continue to happen! Loki will never stop being awesome! Thank you both for your reviews :)

Here is chapter 19!

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"I hope you got the mischief out of your system now, Loki." You said as the two of you left the corridor you had been in when Loki pranked Laga.

"Mischief never leaves me, Aurora. I would get used to it if I were you." Loki suggested with a laugh.

"When did you decide to become so mischievous anyway? You weren't always like this." You noted.

Loki shrugged his narrow shoulders and said, "People change, you know that. I suppose I just happened to find an activity I was good at and enjoyed so I continued it. You would do the same, would you not?"

You thought for a moment before you replied, "You're right, Loki. I just didn't detect the change as it was occurring so that's why it seemed sudden."

Loki put his hand on your shoulder and smiled down at you, "Ah, but I had to keep the changes so slight, so imperceptible, that no one would notice. It all adds to the mystery you see? How can I use the element of surprise to trick people if everyone is expecting it?"

You shook your head in laughter and said, "I think you are overthinking this, Loki. You're so deep into the inner workings of trickery."

"Mischief is a fine art, Aurora," Loki said earnestly, "I have to devote all of my thoughts to it otherwise many things could go wrong."

"I can understand there being a lot at stake. You could hurt someone or yourself, and you could get caught. You're lucky we didn't." You said pointing a finger at Loki.

"I'm trembling at the threat of your finger pointing at me, just so you know." Loki said as he held his hands up in defense.

"You should be!" You exclaimed as you stepped closer to Loki.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked you, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." You teased.

"Yes, but I-" Loki began before you cut him off by quickly poking him in the side with your finger.

"Aurora! Stop that!" Loki exclaimed as you continued to jab him with your finger and proceeded tickling him.

You giggled aloud as you quickly moved both of your hands to avoid Loki grabbing your hands and ending your fun.

"Never! Muahaha!" You laughed trying to sound evil, but ultimately failed because your giggles overpowered your attempt at evil laughter.

"You know," Loki began as he tried to grab your hands, "the evil laugh does not suit you." You quickly moved to the side tripping over your feet while avoiding Loki's reach as you poked him in the side again saying, "I'm still causing you minor mayhem even without the proper execution of the laugh."

"I am sorry to inform you, Lady Aurora, that you are not very menacing." Loki said smootly as his long fingers latched onto one of your wrists, shortly followed by the other.

"No, no, no!" you bellowed as you writhed trying to wiggle out of Loki's grasp.

Loki held you firmly in place and laughed as he looked down at you as you made a show of trying to break free.

"Your mischief failed, you have been caught which you should always avoid." Loki smirked.

You finally stopped trying to break free from Loki's grasp because it was like trying to escape from a vice grip; your attempts were futile.

You sighed and stared up at Loki's sparkling emerald eyes, "I guess I'm not very good at it."

"It takes practice." Loki said tilting his head to the side.

"Uh, why are you looking at me like that? You can let me go now that you've caught me." You said as you wiggled your hands within Loki's grip for emphasis.

Loki's lip curled upwards in his trademark smirk as he said, "I am afraid that I cannot oblige. When you are caught, you are punished."

Your eyes widened as you immediately began to struggle against Loki again as you yelled, "No,no,no! Don't you dare even think about-"

"Loki!" You screamed as Loki held you tightly against him with one arm as he used his other arm to tickle you.

"It's only fair that your punishment is befitting of your crime. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, isn't that what Christians on Midgard believe?" Loki spoke as his slender and quick fingers rapidly tickled you.

"I don't know, but please stop! I can't breathe!" You exclaimed in between breaths.

Loki chuckled as he ignored your pleas, "If you can talk you can breathe."

"Loki! Now is not the time to get technical with me! I swear, you're going to kill me!" You huffed as you twitched each time Loki tickled you.

"I do not believe anyone has ever died in a manner such as this before." Loki laughed as he tickled you in a particularly sensitive spot on your side.

"Well I'm about to be the first! Please, I'm begging you!" You pleaded.

"Very well, but remember if you try and tickle me again I'll do it to you tenfold." Loki whispered into your ear as he tickled you once more before finally releasing you.

You quickly ran away from him and stood a safe distance away glaring at him while you caught your breath.

"Why do you glare at me so? It was only fair." Loki chuckled.

"You are no fun. Tenfold? I'm too intimidated to mess with you anymore." You huffed.

Loki did not look convinced. Loki moved towards you and said, "You and I both know that you do not like to give up. I highly doubt that I have scared you into submission as it were."

Loki had stopped only a few inches away from you and you hated to admit it, but Loki was intimidating. He towered over you and had a piercing gaze that could freeze anyone in their tracks. It was also evident that Loki was now physically capable of holding his own, not just mentally anymore. Even though Loki looked intimidating, you knew that underneath that exterior was someone who was actually very good natured and sweet. Loki would do anything for the people he cared about and even when Loki exerted his assets over you like he just had, you knew it was only for fun to mess with you. You knew that Loki would never hurt you. You decided that the one time Loki accidentally hurt you with dark magic didn't count because it wasn't intentional and he was still trying to learn to control his abilities. You didn't consider what had happened to be Loki's fault. Loki also expressed how sorry he was and you believed that anytime someone was truly sorry that they deserved forgiveness and as far as you were concerned, you would always forgive Loki.

You looked up at Loki and instead of responding to him, you went to hug him.

"What is this for?" Loki asked you while placing a hand on your back.

"I just wanted to hug you because I love you." You said into his armor.

"As in a friend right?" Loki asked you.

"Of course." You replied as if it was the obvious answer.

Loki smiled as he rested his head on top of yours, "I love you too and I apologize for tickling you to near death."

You laughed and said, "I forgive you, but only because I can't envision my life without you."

"I am lucky that I am indispensable then." Loki replied.

"That you are." You giggled.

"It so happens that I too, cannot imagine what my life would be like without you in it." Loki replied as he hugged you tighter.

"I don't know what the two of you were doing or were planning to do, but you're in my secret spot and I order you to leave." A female's voice said.

You and Loki broke apart from the hug and turned to see Ingrid standing a few feet away with her arms crossed. Fandral was standing next to her looking back and forth between you and Loki.

"What are you talking about Ingrid? People are free to roam the palace. This isn't your private room." You said sternly.

"It might as well be because I come here when I-" Ingrid began but was cut off by Fandral.

"Ingrid, they don't need to know why we are here."

Loki raised an eyebrow at Fandral's words which earned a smirk from Fandral. Ingrid just looked annoyed and you fought back the urge to gag.

"I did not need that mental picture. Gods, just take your stupid spot. I'm vacating the premises before I see anything." you scoffed as you began walking past Ingrid.

Loki followed you as Ingrid turned around and said, "I didn't even finish my sentence. You don't know what I was going to say."

"I didn't need to hear it. I know how you are and how he is," you said pointing at a still smirking Fandral, "so I'm quite confident I know what you're going to engage in and I do not wish to be scarred for life."

"Oh come on, it's not like you and Loki weren't up to anything." Ingrid said in frustration.

"We weren't! Gods, Ingrid, why can't you get it through your thick head that two people can just be friends?" you said through your teeth.

"Well, if you weren't going to do anything he can stay. I don't care." Ingrid winked.

Fandral's eyes widened and Loki's pale face turned red.

"Ughhh!" you groaned as you threw your hands up in annoyance and stomped off.

Loki turned to watch you go and then looked back at Ingrid and Fandral bowing his head slightly and finally breaking his silence by saying, "I apologize, but I must decline your offer. Er, have fun and farewell." Loki finished awkwardly as he turned to follow you leaving Ingrid and Fandral behind.

"Aurora, wait!" Loki's voice called out from behind you.

You stopped walking as Loki quickly caught up with you.

"I can't stand her." you said as you started walking again.

"At least you weren't invited to join them. I actually felt very uncomfortable back there." Loki said blushing slightly.

"What annoys me is that she never used to even speak to you and now all of the sudden she does because she feels like you're worth her time now when she never used to give you the time of day." You said angrily as you and Loki walked through the palace which was strangely very empty.

"I know and do not worry; I'm too smart to fall for her stunts. She isn't fooling me." Loki stated.

"Good because she doesn't deserve you, especially since she's running around with Fandral." You scoffed in disgust.

"Well, they both deserve each other then. Do not concern yourself too much with what they do." Loki offered as you both entered the center of the palace where a large group of people were gathered.

"What is going on?" You asked aloud.

"No idea." Loki responded as he searched the crowd and found his brother.

"Thor! Thor!" Loki called out to his brother who finally heard him and came striding over.

"Greetings brother and Lady Aurora." Thor spoke.

"Hello, Thor." You smiled.

"Do you know what the meaning of this gathering is?" Loki asked his brother.

"There has been a disturbance in Niflheim, brother. Father has left to handle the matter, but word spreads fast around here so everyone has gathered to discuss whether or not we should prepare to fight." Thor explained.

"Does it appear that we might need to assist King Odin?" You asked nervously.

Thor shook his head and replied, "It does not look like forces are needed, but I would very much like to go to battle." Thor grinned.

"That's selfish, Thor." Loki spoke, "You can't wish for war just to fulfill your desires at the risk of everyone else's lives."

"I would not risk their lives, I'd protect them." Thor replied.

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it and shook his head as if it was not worth discussing any further.

"I really hope we don't have to fight. I may have passed the exam, but I don't think I'm actually ever going to be ready to fight." You admitted as you shifted your weight from one foot to the other.

"We won't know anything until father returns, so try not to stress too much." Loki advised.

You nodded your head just as a voice called out from the crowd, "King Odin has returned!"

You felt your stomach drop as you looked at the two brothers and said, "I guess we're about to find out if we should worry or not."


	20. Chapter 20 (Adolescence)

Hello readers! This chapter has some mythology in it that I want to briefly explain. I think everyone knows what Yggdrasil is from seeing the movies, but the Norns who are mentioned in this chapter (Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi) live at the base of Yggdrasil in the realm of Asgard. They are demi-goddesses of destiny represented as three sisters. Urd is fate, Skuld is being, and Verdandi is necessity. Yggdrasil is subject to decay because of Nidhoog, a serpent/dragon who is trapped underneath its roots but resides in Niflheim where it eats corpses to sustain itself. Lovely, right? Well, Nidhogg wants to destroy the world-tree and the Norns try to stop this process or slow it down to protect the cosmos. I hope that helps you all to understand this chapter!

Thank you to **guest Abby **for your review :) I'm glad that you find this story different than others you have read and are looking forward to further chapters!

Also thank you to **A Wild Clover, **this one is for you!

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You pushed your way forward trying to get as close to the front of the crowd as you could, but the sea of people in your way prevented you from getting very far. Loki and Thor followed you which caused people to provide more room so that the two princes could weave through the crowd. Satisfied with where you now currently stood, able to see King Odin standing with Queen Frigga at the top of the steps in the hall, you stopped and waited for King Odin to speak.

"Upon my visit to Niflheim, it had become apparent that Nidhogg has caused Yggdrasil to decay more rapidly. Nidhogg was belligerent towards Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. Nidhogg is trapped by Yggdrasil's roots and wishes to escape. Should Nidhogg successfully do this, the cosmos will be plunged back into chaos." King Odin spoke to the crowd that had gathered before him.

Immediately, people began whispering to each other about the type of disaster that would ensue if the world-tree deteriorated. You didn't fully comprehend the consequences, but you knew that life would never be the same if Nidhogg succeeded, or if there would be a life at all. You feared that monstrous creature would plunge the cosmos into chaos and that in the midst of it all, no one, not even King Odin, would be able to restore order. You preferred things to be orderly and would very much like it to stay that way. Glancing around, you saw that most people looked as anxious as you felt, except for Loki. Loki did not look fazed by his father's words, while even Thor looked slightly nervous which you had never seen from him before.

"How do your father's words not affect you?" You asked Loki eyeing him suspiciously as the nervous chattered continued around you.

Loki looked at you and shrugged, "While father has recounted the general outcome of Nidhogg's actions, should Yggdrasil in fact completely decay, the world-tree is sturdy and will not fall easily to Nidhogg's deleterious gnawing. Also, the Norns tend to Yggdrasil specifically to prevent it from rapidly decaying. This is not something they have not handled before."

"Normally, I would not bring this to your attention for the sake of needlessly causing you all to worry," King Odin began speaking again, "but, Nidhogg's aggressive behavior today has caused Verdandi to become injured to the point of being unable to fulfill her duties in slowing down the process of decay."

Gasps filled the room as you glanced at Loki expecting him to come up with some clever retort as to why Verdandi's injury was still no reason to worry, but Loki remained silent.

"As you all know, Verdandi and her sisters utilize the Well of Fate in order to delay the process of Yggdrasil's decay. Protecting Yggdrasil and essentially the cosmos itself is an important full-time duty that requires constant attention and dedication from all of its guardians. Verdandi has been taken to the healing room, but she will be out of commission until she recovers. Therefore, with only two guardians to slow down the decaying process, Yggdrasil will decay much faster until Verdandi is able to reassume her position. We are simply losing time that we do not have." King Odin finished solemnly.

You found it unsettling that an immortal and omnipotent god was saying that there was not enough time, when he had all the time in the universe because of his immortality. You had never heard King Odin speak so ominously before and his words made you feel like you were doomed along with everyone else.

In the midst of the fear and hopelessness that was rampant in the hall, a voice spoke out above the din of worrying voices saying, "King Odin, I wish to substitute for Verdandi while she is recovering."

Everyone turned around to find Laga standing behind the crowd. You reasoned that she must have entered the hall early enough to hear King Odin's dire words and had decided that she wanted to protect her realm.

King Odin slowly walked down the golden steps and the crowd immediately parted, including you, Thor, and Loki. King Odin now stood in front of Laga and said, "Laga, my dearest friend, it is most unsafe for you fulfill Verdandi's duties as guardian."

"I know it is perilous, King Odin," Laga began, "but we cannot simply stand idly by while she recovers. Who knows how long it will take? As you said, we are wasting precious time while Yggdrasil rots beneath us. I reign over the springs and wells; I am qualified to assist Urd and Skuld in using the nutrients from the Well of Fate to sustain Yggdrasil's life force."

For someone who had been so startled earlier as a result of Loki's prank, Laga was currently displaying an enormous amount of courage in willingly offering to put herself in a dangerous position for the well-being of Asgard as well as the other realms. If Laga did take on the position, it would put an enormous strain on her. Standing next to Loki while watching the exchange between King Odin and Laga, you admired her for her tact and bravery.

King Odin looked down at Laga and spoke, "While you are the most qualified individual here, I have reservations about sending you down there when you are not accustomed to the conditions. Even Verdandi who has spent many years down there has been injured."

"I anticipate my time protecting Yggdrasil to be rather stressful and dangerous, but I do not believe that I could stand by knowing I have something to contribute while the fate of the cosmos hangs in the balance. I want to do this," Laga said firmly, "but I want to ask for your permission first since you are king."

Odin looked thoughtful for a moment before placing his hand on Laga's shoulder as he gave the verdict, "Please stay safe down there, I would not forgive myself if something should happen to you. You have my permission."

Laga bowed her head in respect, "Thank you, my king."

"I think the gratitude must be given to you, for you are taking on a big responsibility of your own accord in order to promote the safety of Asgard and the other realms. We owe you our thanks." King Odin said.

Then, King Odin did something that you had never witnessed him do before, King Odin kneeled before Laga, a lesser goddess. Your eyes widened in shock at the sight before you as did everyone else's eyes.

"Well, I never…" Loki trailed off in astonishment.

"Are kings even allowed to do that?" You heard Thor ask no one in particular.

Once the initial shock had worn off, everyone in the hall followed King Odin's lead and kneeled. As your knees touched the cold, hard palace floor, you marveled at the scene. You were positive that you would never witness something like this again in your life, as long as it may be. Glancing upward from your position, you were able to see Laga because everyone else had kneeled and you could see that she looked uncomfortable and embarrassed at the scene. Laga was quiet and content with her status in Asgard and her normal duties. Laga was not accustomed to a crowd of people kneeling before her and it showed. You couldn't blame her, however, because it was rather overwhelming to be in such a position of authority. You were thankful that you were not likely to be in any type of position.

Finally, King Odin rose to his full height as did everyone else in the hall.

"All of Asgard thanks you for your diligence and selflessness. I will escort you to where Urd and Skuld reside so that I can inform them of your decision to join them in protecting Yggdrasil. Let us go now." King Odin spoke.

Laga nodded, "I am ready."

King Odin turned to face the sea of faces looking back at him and announced, "As a result of Laga's service, you are all able to continue your daily lives without the threat of battle. I hope you are all eternally grateful to Laga for what she has done. You may all return to your previous activities."

With those words, King Odin and Laga disappeared. Gradually, people began to exit the hall murmuring different things about the recent events. You, Loki, and Thor remained were you stood as the hall became empty except for the three of you.

Loki spoke first saying, "I feel bad for pranking her now."

You gave a small laugh as you said, "I feel bad for being a witness."

Thor looked at you both in confusion and asked, "What is this prank of which you speak, brother?"

Loki turned to face Thor and bit his lip saying, "I slightly startled Laga earlier today with one of my tricks."

"Brother!" Thor exclaimed, "That was not very nice, especially after what she just did!"

Loki lowered his eyes to his feet as he mumbled, "I know, brother."

"Well, there's no use feeling too guilty about it." You chimed in, "What's done is done. Besides, Laga is certainly alright; otherwise she would not have assumed the responsibility she just took."

Loki lifted his head. "You are right, Aurora. I did not trick her out of malice either, so I suppose that I should not be too hard on myself."

"I would still refrain from causing too much mischief, Loki." Thor said eyeing his brother.

Loki cracked a smile as he said, "Oh, I would not say that, Thor. However, I will abstain from bothering Laga from now on; she will no longer be a target of mine."

"I think we should just take what we can get, Thor." You laughed.

Thor sighed heavily, "I suppose you are right, Lady Aurora. It is a start."

"A very small start." You added.

"Indeed." Thor agreed as Loki snickered and disappeared.

"Well, it hasn't started yet." You laughed at Loki's sudden disappearance as you and Thor exited the hall.


	21. Chapter 21 (Adolescence)

I am SO sorry everyone! This is the longest I have gone without updating and it wasn't intentional. I had started this chapter a few days ago, but a lot has happened at my house which prevented me from finishing the chapter and posting it. To keep my explanation short, my mom had to go to the hospital because she has cellulitis and she isn't getting better yet. Then, yesterday I became really sick and I am still not feeling well today, but I finally had enough energy to finish writing this and post it. I apologize for the late update :(

I want to welcome/thank my new followers and please don't hesitate to review and let me know what you like about this story!

**A Wild Clover**- I am sorry it was so short, things were starting to get hectic around here :/ Thank you for your review, as always! I'm trying to pace Loki's development because even in Thor he is still pretty calm until he finds out he's adopted. I won't keep it exactly the same of course, but I still won't have him completely snap until that turning point. :)

**Cougar** **rolypoly bug**- No worries :) Thank you for your review and I'm glad you liked the twists! I wanted to have this update done much sooner, but illness prevented it from occurring when I wanted it to :/ Here it is though!

* * *

The sun was entering the last phase of its setting as you walked through the palace corridors to the library so you could return the books you had recently taken. You wanted to exchange them for other books to read. You had stopped by Loki's quarters to ask him if he wanted to accompany you to the library, but he turned down your offer which was rather unusual for Loki since he loved to read so much. You decided not to pester Loki since you assumed that he had his reasons for not going to the library and even though the two of you were close, it wasn't your duty as his best friend to pry into every facet of Loki's life. So, you left Loki to tend to whatever he needed to do and made your way over to the library.

Once you entered the library someone suddenly appeared in front of you from the side and before you could stop, the two of you collided causing you to drop all of your books to the floor.

Looking up, you saw that naturally, you had run into Fandral of all people.

"Nice going, Aurora, are you trying to kill me?" Fandral asked in annoyance.

You rolled your eyes and said, "Fandral, if I wanted to kill you, I'd have to try much harder than simply bumping into you at the library. What are you doing here anyway? I didn't know you could read."

Fandral scoffed at the smirk on your face and replied, "Why yes, as it so happens, I can read. It also so happens that you don't own the library; anyone can come here, not just you and your…friend."

"My friend has a name you know." You crossed your arms.

"Yes, I know that," Fandral began as he bent down and picked up your books, "but I rather not acknowledge that I know who he is." Fandral finished as he handed you your books back which you took slowly.

"Just because you're ignorant and want to pretend you don't know who Loki is doesn't mean he doesn't exist." You glared at Fandral clutching your books against your chest protectively.

Fandral's lips curled up into a smile as he said, "Loki who?"

"Ugh! Playing dumb does not garner any favor with me, Fandral." You sighed in frustration.

Fandral frowned, "You're no fun at all. Don't you ever joke around?"

"Yes, but not with you." You stated simply.

"Well," Fandral scoffed, "I can see I'm not wanted here."

"Took you long enough to come to that realization." You noted.

"Fine, see you later." Fandral mumbled as he exited the library.

You turned to watch Fandral leave and then returned all of your books before ascending the steps to the third level to search for books on law. You took a light load today, two books concerning Asgardian law and one concerning 16th century English law on Midgard. You descended the steps to leave the library and while you were walking through the corridor you saw Forseti walking in your direction.

"Good evening, Lady Aurora." Forseti nodded when he came close to you.

"Hello, Forseti. How are you?" You asked the god.

"I am well, thank you for inquiring. How are you faring?" Forseti returned the question.

"I am well also. I'm just coming back from the library." You replied.

"What tomes did you acquire?" Forseti asked you, seeming interested.

You held your arm out and showed him the books you had gotten and said, "I usually go to the library to get a variety of books, but today I just picked up books on law instead of getting others as well."

"Law, hmm?" Forseti asked as he looked up at you from the books.

"Yes, I'm very interested in it." You answered as he returned the books to you.

Forseti nodded, "Even when you were younger I could tell that law was something you were interested in what with you coming to me for advice on what to do, or expressing discontent over wrongdoings because they weren't just or moral."

"I remember that." You smiled and then continued, "I don't know why I was always like that."

"Some people are just born with an inherent sense of what is right and wrong as well as the unwavering need to defend what is right. It is a gift and should be treated as such rather than neglected." Forseti spoke with a slight smile.

You looked at him quizzically and asked, "You really think I possess some sort of gift?"

"I do, and that is why I want to offer you the opportunity to hone that gift by studying the practice of law in the courts here as my apprentice if you will." Forseti proposed.

Your eyes widened at Forseti's words in astonishment, "You're really offering me an apprenticeship?!"

Forseti laughed at your enthusiasm and said, "Indeed I am."

"I accept! Thank you!" You exclaimed.

"You are very welcome. You can start tomorrow if you like." Forseti said.

"I will, thank you so much!" You said happily.

Forseti chuckled and said, "You can come to the courts at sunrise and I shall see you then."

"I won't be late!" You promised.

"I wouldn't expect you to be. Farewell, Lady Aurora." Forseti chuckled and then waved goodbye as he continued walking.

"Farewell, Forseti!" You called out as you too began walking.

* * *

"Loki! Open up! I have wonderful news!" You yelled as you banged on Loki's door in a rather unladylike manner.

Loki's door opened to allow you to enter his quarters, but Loki was nowhere to be seen. You slowly stepped into Loki's room looking around for that tall and pale best friend of yours. You turned your head to look behind the door, but Loki was not there. Loki was nowhere to be seen so you placed your books down on Loki's desk and folded your arms, glancing around in confusion.

Sighing, you began to walk over to Loki's window when you felt a strong hand clamp down on your shoulder. You jolted in fear and turned around to see Loki staring down at you with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Gods, Loki!" You exclaimed as you clutched your chest and stumbled backwards, tripping over your own two feet.

You fell to the floor in shock and glared up at Loki who was laughing at your fall.

"You frightened me, Loki! Don't do that again, you almost scared me to death!" You exclaimed breathlessly on Loki's floor.

Loki's emerald eyes were shining with mirth as he extended a large hand down to you to help you up, which you accepted. Loki lifted you off your feet right away and had you standing upright again as you looked up at him.

"You're lucky I didn't seriously injure myself." You huffed.

"I would be most remorseful if you had, but fortunately for you well-being and my conscious, you did not become injured." Loki answered with a grin.

You rubbed your shoulders and shook your head, "Your tricks are going to cause problems one day."

Loki furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at you, "What makes you think that?"

You sighed, "I know you mean no harm with your magic, but let's face it Loki, you wield something no one else here has or can even understand except for your father I suppose, but he's always busy. It's just you, Loki, and nobody could stop you if you decided to lash out or get revenge. If you lost control, you would be very dangerous and likely impossible to restrain."

"You make me sound like I'm some powerful god or something." Loki said looking at you in confusion.

You shrugged, "You might as well be."

"Hmmm…" Loki mumbled.

"What are you thinking?" You asked Loki.

Loki put a long, slender finger to his lip and said, "It's a secret."

"That is not fair!" You exclaimed as you pushed on his chest, failing to cause him to move even a fraction of an inch.

Loki laughed as he grabbed your hands and said, "Ignore it and tell me what you came here for; what is this wonderful news of which you speak?"

"Oh right." You said. "I ran into Forseti on my way back from the library and he wants me to be his apprentice in the courts! I accepted his offer and I start tomorrow at sunrise!"

"That is wonderful news! Congratulations, Aurora!" Loki exclaimed as he hugged you.

"Thank you!" You laughed as you hugged him back.

Loki pulled away and smiled down at you, "I better stay out of trouble, otherwise one day I might have to answer to you for my crimes."

You laughed and replied, "Yes, you better be mindful of your actions. I won't be biased towards you just because we're friends!"

Loki placed one of his hands on his chest and asked, "You would punish me, your dearest friend?"

You placed a hand on Loki's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry Loki, but no one is above the law."

Loki chuckled, "I better never give you a reason to punish me then."

"You're a good person, Loki; I don't anticipate such a thing ever occurring." You smiled.

"Me neither." Loki smiled at you.

"Good, now what should we do with our evening?" You asked him.

"I was practicing my magic for the majority of the day, which is why I did not accompany you to the library, so it would be nice to take a break and leave this room." Loki said.

"We should go outside then, come on." You said as you grabbed Loki's hand and headed towards his door.

The two of you wandered through the palace and eventually came to the steps where you had last stargazed at the night neither of you could sleep. You and Loki sat down on the steps and gazed up at the vast nighttime sky.

"Where do you think the other realms are?" You asked Loki as you stared at a particularly stunning astronomical display.

"Well, if I am correct, I believe that right now you are currently looking in the direction of Aflheim." Loki said.

"It looks very pretty." You noted.

"Even Jotunheim looks nice from here, but that does not mean that it is not an awful place." Loki said quietly.

"You've never even been to Jotunheim, Loki." You remarked.

"Yes, I know, but from what they have done in the past, I suspect the Jotuns are just as vile as they seem." Loki stated.

You glanced over at Loki, "Try not to judge any races would you?"

Loki looked over at you and smirked, "Why not?"

"Because it's mean!" You exclaimed.

Loki chuckled, "Oh, Aurora. There is not a mean bone in your body is there?"

"There is actually," You trailed off, "I was rather flippant with Fandral today in the library."

Loki narrowed his gaze at you, "Fandral reads?"

"That's exactly what I said!" You laughed and then continued, "Anyway, we bumped into each other near the entrance which caused my books to fall and when he was speaking to me, I was rude which caused him to abruptly leave."

"Good." Loki said simply as he looked back up at the sky.

"You know," You began as you edged closer to Loki, "I don't know what this feud of yours is going to amount to one of these days."

"Nor do I. However, it will not end until I win." Loki said to the sky.

"Seeking victory can lead to a dangerous streak." You murmured.

"I am not as dangerous as you think I am, Aurora." Loki said as he turned to face you, his emerald eyes staring into your hazel ones.

You fidgeted under Loki's piercing gaze. Loki was your best friend and you trusted him, but somewhere concealed deep underneath his emerald depths, was something you didn't quite understand. You didn't know what lurked inside of Loki, but you had a sinking feeling that it was something that would surface soon, and more so, you felt that it was something that was indeed dangerous, even though Loki insisted he wasn't a threat to anybody.

Loki was still staring at you and you swallowed before saying as convincingly as you could, "I know you aren't, Loki."

Loki's eyes continued to stare into yours, as if they were trying to break you down, but you maintained your composure as you smiled at your best friend. Loki smiled too, and diverted his gaze away from you after which you finally released the breath you didn't even realize you had been holding. The two of you remained on the steps of the palace for a portion of the night as you both looked up at the vast sky, occasionally talking, but mostly sitting in comfortable silence as you both got lost in the wonders of the universe.


	22. Chapter 22 (Adolescence)

Hello readers! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and was understanding about my current situation! My mom is slowly getting better and while I'm still ill, I'm better than I was the past two days. Once again, I'd like to welcome and thank my new story followers! :)

Also, to my reviewers:

**A Wild Clover**- Aurora is slowly starting to get there! She's starting to become a bit suspicious of him, finally! Ugh, I feel the same way. Love Loki no matter what! Don't feel bad about thinking that; I'm actually most excited to write those parts! They're starting to come! Ah yes, I remember that myth! Don't worry, I love suggestions :) Haha, yes she is! Nidhogg did poor Verdandi dirty so to speak haha. She won't be taking care of Yggdrasil forever though! As always, thank you for your review!

**Katerina13**- I'm following some who take awhile as well- thank you for your kind words! Thank you for your input, I felt the same myself at some points, but there are some chapters I have planned out that I wanted to space out a bit. Things are starting to pick up concerning Loki starting with this chapter :)

**Cougar rolypoly bug**- Thank you! I love foreshadowing! Aww, thank you :) It always makes me smile to hear that people like what I write!

So, in this chapter, we get to see a change in Loki and in the next chapter, spoiler- he's going to get a bit violent, and we all love a violent Loki don't we? I know I do haha. So, here is chapter 22!

* * *

You found yourself anxiously fiddling with the sleeve of your gown as you stood outside the courtroom. You were on time as you had promised Forseti yesterday, but you were nervous about your first day studying in the courts under Forseti's instruction. You weren't even sure that you would one day be able to devote your time to working in the courts as your primary duty in Asgard. You would much rather spend your days in the courts than on the battlefield like most Asgardians. Taking a deep breath and steadying your nervous hands, you stepped into the courtroom to find that it was empty except for Forseti himself. You began to wonder how often he left the courts, which seemed to be very rare.

"Good morning, Lady Aurora. You abided by your word I see." Forseti smiled at you as he walked over to you.

"Good morning, Forseti. I would never wish to be late and miss out on this opportunity." You replied with a nod of your head.

"Well, you have quite a first day ahead of you. It is good that you arrived on time, because a trial is set to begin momentarily." Forseti said.

"Who is on trial?" You asked, hardly believing that you were going to witness a trial already.

"As I trust you know, it is forbidden to travel to Jotunheim without King Odin's consent. Well, the one on trial went to Jotunheim without Odin's consent. Heimdall naturally alerted Odin right away. From what I have heard thus far, I do not believe this individual meant any harm, but I still must oversee the trial to ensure that Asgard is not in any danger." Forseti explained.

You nodded, "I see. Who is it exactly?"

Before Forseti could answer your question, a group of people entered the courtroom surrounding the goddess Jord. You did not know Jord well, because she was often visiting the most uncivilized areas on Midgard. You had a hunch about why Jord was going to Jotunheim that correlated with her devotion to uncivilized areas.

Jord was led into the court and the others took their places to watch the trial. Forseti motioned for you to follow him as he took his place at the front of the room and spoke, "Greetings, everyone. This is the trial of Jord versus the kingdom of Asgard. Will the defendant please rise?"

Jord complied as she eye Forseti who spoke directly to her, "Jord, do you understand why you were brought here today?"

"I was just doing my job, Jotunheim is uncivilized and-" Jord spoke but was cut off.

"Yes, but you went to Jotunheim, a forbidden realm, without King Odin's consent. Do you understand how suspicious that looks?" Forseti asked.

Jord paused and then replied, "I suppose so, but I have to tend to primitive regions so that they can progress toward becoming a better civilization."

Your suspicions about what the problem with Jord's actions were was confirmed when Forseti said, "Your intentions meant well, but if you helped a civilization such as the Jotuns develop into an improved society, they could become more dangerous than they already are. By helping the Jotuns, you would be putting your own home in danger and leaving Asgard to travel to Jotunheim without speaking to Odin first heightens the suspicion about your actions."

"I-I didn't think of it that way." Jord stuttered slightly.

Forseti offered Jord a small smile and said, "I do not believe that you intended to bring harm to Asgard, but it is my duty to investigate this matter fully before making my decision. You may be seated."

Jord sat back down as you looked around the room. You had never witnessed a trial before because only those involved in the case or gods like Odin could see any trial they pleased. As Forseti began the actual trial you realized that you might be there for a while, but you wanted to see what happened behind closed doors, especially since law interested you. So, you listened intently as the trial went underway.

* * *

**Loki's POV**

I was wandering through the palace, pacing with nervous energy as I looked at the shadow magic book that I held in my hands. There was something odd about just holding the book; it gave off an aura that was none too benevolent. I thought it was absurd to believe that a book could be evil, but the book in my hands felt like just that. I found myself wondering if a book could be possessed by an evil entity, or if it had been cursed, thereby, transferring its afflictions onto me. Still, I felt drawn to the book and craved the oddly disconcerting sensations that the book produced in me. I was torn between listening to my mind which told me to abandon the book and my desire to continue to learn from its pages and experience the dark, yet pleasurable aura the book infiltrated my whole being with even though I was not willing it to happen.

Distracted by the contents of the book, I was not aware of my surroundings and abruptly came into contact with a hard, cold stone wall.

"Mmmpfh!" I groaned after walking into it and dropping the book onto the floor.

I rubbed my forehead and cursed my foolishness under my breath. I knew it was not wise to read while walking because I would not be able to see where I was going, but I still did it anyway. Now, I had succeeded in making a fool out of myself. Just as I was hoping that no one was around to witness my blunder, I heard a feminine snicker from behind me.

"_At least it is not Fandral._" I thought to myself as I turned around to see Sif not even attempting to conceal her amusement as she openly snickered at my unfortunate encounter with the wall.

I glared at her and asked, "What is so amusing to you that you are incapable of controlling your juvenile laughter?"

Sif continued to laugh at my words so I rolled my eyes and continued, "For someone who is supposed to be a warrior, you display very poor skills at maintaining your composure, especially in the face of a threat."

Sif finally stopped laughing and looked at me with confusion, "A threat? I trust that you are not referring to yourself, the one who walked straight into a solid wall."

I set my jaw tightly as I felt a hot, boiling sensation inside of me. It felt like my veins were flooded with a scalding liquid that threatened to burn through my skin and completely consume me. It was a feeling I had never experienced before, and while part of me felt like I should quell douse the fire that was burning inside of me, a larger part of me wanted to watch it burn.

Before I knew it, I was on Sif in an instant and clamped my hand over her mouth. Sif immediately began to struggle but I pushed her back into the wall that she had mocked me for walking into moments ago.

I pressed her into the wall harder as I seethed, "At least I came into contact with the wall on my own instead of being forced into it because I was too weak to defend myself."

Sif stared up at me with anger in her eyes. Anger was not good enough; I wanted to see her eyes cloud over with fear. I pressed my shoulder into the space above her shoulder to pin her against the wall as I stared down at her waiting for fear to manifest itself in her eyes. I detected a flicker of fear, but that still was not enough for me.

So, I titled my head down and growled, "Minding your tongue would suit you well, Lady Sif. It does not bode well for you to insult me or invoke my wrath. If you dare to anger me again, even slightly, I will not be so forgiving."

After I finished speaking, I put extra force into my fingers against her left cheek while still covering her mouth before I removed my hand from her mouth. I stepped away from her and Sif immediately slumped down the wall before hitting the floor.

"Y-you're a d-deran-nged an-d-d e-evil p-pers-son." Sif stammered as she tried to catch her breath and touched her cheek, where an indentation now existed from the pressure I applied with my fingers.

I laughed loudly as I shook my head and replied, "No, no Lady Sif, I am afraid that you are mistaken. I am merely tired of being the object of everyone's scorn and mockery. Losing my patience does not make me evil or deranged. I suggest that you leave before your mere presence angers me even more."

I ended my last sentence with extra emphasis and a deeper tone which caused Sif to quickly get up off the floor, glare at me, and begin to walk away. As she was walking away, I noticed her long hair moving back and forth and felt the urge to cut it off. I smirked and began following Sif down the corridor after I retrieved my book from the floor. My footfalls were silent and when I was close enough, I used my magic to conceal myself and then proceeded to cut off a substantial portion of her hair. Once her hair fell to the floor, I stayed long enough to see her turn around and stare dumbfounded at her hair on the floor as she frantically looked around for presumably, me. Sif clenched her fists and picked up her hair before running out of the corridor. I stopped concealing myself and snickered before heading to my quarters.

"That was just for annoying me, there is worse to come if you do not learn your lesson." I snarled aloud, as if she could even hear me at all.

* * *

**Aurora's POV**

You were on your way back to your quarters from the courtroom after Jord's trial had ended. Forseti proclaimed that Jord was innocent of any transgressions, and that she would not be punished for her first offense in not clearing her visit to Jotunheim with King Odin. You thanked Forseti for allowing you to be present during the trial and again for allowing you to see how law worked in Asgard. You couldn't wait to continue your apprenticeship in the courts as you pondered about your experience today.

In the corridor you saw someone walking in your direction. You recognized the tall and slim figure.

"Loki!" You yelled out as the figure who was indeed Loki looked up from the large book he was reading.

Loki smiled at you as he shut the book and reached you in a few long strides.

"How was your first day in the courts?" Loki asked you after giving you a quick hug.

"It was really exciting! It was long too, but I didn't mind. I got to see an actual trial!" You exclaimed.

Loki chuckled, "Your enthusiasm indicates that it was as exciting as you claim."

You laughed along with Loki and said, "I wish that I could work in the courts one day."

"Perhaps you will, you never know." Loki said with a small smile.

You smiled back at Loki as your eyes wandered to the book in his hands.

"What is that?" You asked Loki pointing at the book.

"Oh, this?" Loki asked shifting his hand a little too quickly as if he was nervous about answering your question.

"Yes, that." You said narrowing your eyes at Loki.

"This is just a book on Midgard." Loki replied.

"Can I see it?" You asked holding out your hand.

Loki handed the book over to you and you opened it up to find that it was indeed a book on Midgardian history. You were surprised to find such a book in Loki's possession.

Handing it back to him you said, "Why were you so jumpy about having a Midgardian history book? I'm also shocked that you're reading such a thing as you usually read books about magic and don't seem to think too highly of Midgard."

Loki took the book back from you and replied smoothly, "I just have a lot on my mind is all. Do not be so quick to think that I am dismissive of other realms, Aurora." Loki finished with a wink.

"If you say so!" You laughed and you raised your hands in surrender.

The two of you continued walking as Sif entered the same corridor and quickly brushed past the both of you. You noticed that Loki's eyes shifted toward her as she walked by and you too turned around only to cover your mouth at what you saw.

"Sif's hair!" You exclaimed, "It's half gone!"

"Yes, it appears that it was cut in a very hasty manner as well." Loki noted.

"Why would she do that?" You wondered aloud.

Loki shrugged, "I do not know, but the look really does not suit her."

"I'll agree with you on that, Loki." You said as you turned around to continue walking.

Loki stood still for a moment and smirked as Sif turned around to glare at him from the other end of the corridor. Loki could tell that she knew he was responsible for it, but he did not care. If Sif had learned her lesson, she would keep quiet and if she did not, Loki would have more fun with her. As far as Loki was concerned, he had won either way.

"Are you coming Loki?" You asked, noticing that Loki had stopped.

"Yes, sorry about that." Loki replied as he caught up with you and the two of you continued down the corridor.


	23. Chapter 23 (Adolescence)

Hello readers! Thank you again to my new followers and people who favorited this story! It means a lot to me! :) Before I get into a few details about this chapter, I have to thank my reviewers as I always do!

**Katerina13**- He's going to get a bit more scary in this chapter so get ready for it! Awww, while I don't like making people cry, it's something to be said for writing, thank you! I was referencing it :) I love subtleties too!

**A Wild Clover**- SALVATION HAS COME! I actually love reading/writing dark themed pieces, whether they're on here or actual novels that I buy in a store somewhere. Aurora needs to really prepare herself for what is to come! OH YES, IT IS CERTAINLY GETTING UGLY AND I LOVED WRITING IT, NO SHAME! Thank you! *bows back*

**Cougar rolypoly bug**- I'm glad you loved it; thank you :) No worries! It's been taking me a bit longer to update lately whereas I used to have one up everyday. I hope to get back into that rhythm soon! Yeah, I wanted to ease into it rather than making everything happen too quickly. Thank you so much!

Now, a note about this chapter: As a warning, this chapter is a little violent. It's not the worst you'll read by any means, but it's not sunshine and daises either so just prepare yourselves for that if you're not accustomed to such circumstances. I've had this chapter planned for A LONG TIME, way back around chapter 10 so this has been a long time coming and I've been very excited to put this chapter out there and now, here it finally is so let the reading commence and please leave reviews! :)

* * *

**Loki's POV**

"I'll catch up with you later, okay Loki?" Aurora called out to me over her shoulder as she began walking away from me to the courtrooms.

Aurora had said over dinner that she wanted to speak to Forseti about any literature that he might recommend to her so that she could learn more about law outside of the courtroom. Aurora is very invested in her studies which I admire, because I too, am the same way.

"I am just going to walk to my quarters so you can find me there after you speak to Forseti." I replied as she waved her hand and disappeared from my sight.

I did intend to go to my quarters, but I was not telling the complete truth to Aurora when I said that was the only place I was going. First, I was going to try to find Sif because I wanted to see if she was gracefully dealing with her misfortune as everyone would expect. Naturally, I was the only disparager who hoped that Sif would not meet the standard expectations set before her.

I passed through the corridor leading to my area of the palace in order to search for Sif. I decided that I was not going to unleash mischief upon her if I came in contact with her, I still had some restraint inside of me, and I just wanted to observe her, nothing more. In order to reach Sif's quarters I first needed to pass by Thor's quarters as well as the Warrior's Three. I passed by Thor's quarters without seeing him, it was strange that as his brother, I was often not his companion and sometimes had no idea as to his whereabouts. This was one of those times. Since Thor would not see me and be suspicious I continued walking. I passed by each of the Warrior's Three's corridors and was just nearing Sif's when I stopped for a moment.

I stood still as I sensed that there was a presence behind me. While my ability to detect those who were trying to be stealthy was still developing, I knew better than to ignore the inkling of someone or something approaching me without my prior knowledge. As I began to turn my head, with the rest of my body supposed to follow, I felt a force knock me down to the floor and immediately identified the force to be the weight of another individual. I was not as startled as my assailant was undeniably hoping for, but rather annoyed as well as eager, definitely eager. I was ready for a fight and whoever had tackled me to the floor was definitely going to get one.

I felt the sharp tip of an object faintly touching my neck in the crook between my head and my armor. I knew that a sword or dagger was touching my neck and judging by the weight that I felt on my back, my assailant was not very heavy but not very light either.

My lips curled upward in a knowing smile as I turned my head to the side instead of lifting it up so as to avoid the sword piercing my skin and said, "This is a rather unorthodox manner of greeting someone. Wouldn't you agree, Fandral?"

"How did you know it was me?" The irritated voice of Fandral responded.

"There are a few clues that enabled me to ascertain that it was you who decided to attack me, but I will not recount them to you." I replied with a sigh.

I felt Fandral shift as he said, "A little uncomfortable are we?"

I could almost feel him grinning above me with that smug smile of his and it irritated me to no end.

"This is but a minor inconvenience to me." I said with my head still turned to the side, "Now, I trust that you have forced me to the floor for some sort of purpose. Care to enlighten me?"

Fandral shifted above me yet again as he replied, "Yes, I did not need to witness it to know that you were the one who cut off Sif's hair after your encounter with her in the corridor. She knows it too. We don't know how you did it, probably another one of your stupid tricks, but we know that you did it."

I smiled beneath Fandral, with the tip of his sword still hovering against my skin, "Then prove it."

"I don't need proof. You're the only one who could have, and would do such a thing. That's all the proof I need. I think that it's only fair that your body is cut in some manner too." Fandral said in a low voice.

"Hammurabi's Code; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, I must say I am impressed that you know of the code. So, I presume that you plan on cutting my hair off since that is what I did to Sif?" I chuckled.

I felt the tip of the sword press against my skin a little harder as Fandral said in an annoyed tone, "I don't know who that hammer fellow is that you are talking about or why he's taking people's eyes and teeth, but no, I am not going to cut off your hair. Your punishment should be worse. I'm going to stab your hand since that is the way you produce your evil magic."

I did not feel alarmed at Fandral's threat at all and I found it extremely foolish of him to tell me what he was going to do. I heard Fandral pulling out another sword or dagger while still keeping the first one on my neck.

"I'll even let you choose the hand." Fandral said.

"How generous of you! I choose the right." I said in mock acclaim.

"Very well." Fandral said as he took my left hand.

"I must inform you that you have taken the wrong hand, Fandral." I said calmly.

Fandral laughed above me, "It matters not which hand I take, it will hurt the same way on both."

I felt Fandral's grip tighten on my wrist which I took as a sign that he was preparing to thrust the tip of his weapon into my hand. I waited a few seconds before disappearing underneath Fandral just as he thrust what turned out to be a dagger down and instead of stabbing my hand; he only stabbed air before hitting the stone floor instead of my flesh.

"What…what just happen-" Fandral began to say, but stopped midsentence when I lifted him up by the back of his armor, twisted his arm behind his back, and took his sword from his other hand.

Then, I pulled Fandral and slammed him up against the nearest wall, pointing his own sword at his throat.

I grinned slyly at him as I said, "It is unwise to pick a quarrel with someone much larger and stronger than oneself."

Fandral, stunned and afraid, looked back at me in silence.

"You have underestimated me, Fandral." I hissed.

Fandral began to struggle in my grasp which urged me to push the point of the sword closer to his throat so I did.

"It would be in your best interest to quit struggling as it irritates me and makes me want to thrust your own sword into your throat." I sneered.

"Don't, please don't do it Loki." Fandral begged.

My expression changed from one of anger to one of amusement as I smirked, "What is this? Begging me to spare you?"

"Yes…" Fandral trailed off as he refused to meet my gaze.

I jerked his chin up with the tip of the sword so that he was now staring back at me before placing the tip of the sword against his quivering throat again before saying with venom, "You were going to stab me, do not deny it. Why should I bestow upon you the humanity that you failed to demonstrate when our positions were reversed?"

I glared at Fandral imploring him to respond to me, which he did.

"Loki, I am sorry for acting so rashly and attacking you. I should have controlled my anger and not gone looking for a fight. I was wrong to threaten you and you are not the type of person to truly hurt someone." Fandral spoke quickly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and withdrew the word from his throat. Fandral looked down at the sword and breathed a sigh of relief. Fandral's relief was short lived because I quickly used the hand that had been holding the sword to grab Fandral's throat and held him up off the ground and against the wall.

I brought my face close to his as I whispered, "Do not tell me what I am. You know _nothing _about who I am. All that you know is what you see on the surface, but there is so much more inside and you are getting a good look at it right now."

Fandral just stared wide-eyed back at me as I continued, "I advise you to not come looking for a fight with me again because if you do, I will not be so generous with your life. Have I made myself clear?" I finished as I squeezed his throat for emphasis.

Fandral nodded his head as much as he could with my fingers curled around his throat.

The corner of my mouth curled up in a devious smirk as I said, "I figured that even you would be intelligent enough to understand."

I released Fandral from my fingers as he collapsed to the floor gasping for breath.

I watched him for a moment and when he tried to hoist himself up, I pushed him back down with my foot and leaned down slightly to say, "The next time you cross me, you will have to fight to escape and even though you will attempt to win, I assure you that the odds are unlikely."

I removed my foot from Fandral's back as he gasped yet again and I turned to walk away, feeling satisfied with myself even though I had not seen Sif after all. Outmuscling Fandral was much sweeter anyway.

* * *

**Aurora POV**

"Oh, Aurora! Greetings!" Loki exclaimed quickly.

"Yes, hello Loki. You aren't in your quarters; that's where I was just going to find you." You said eyeing Loki carefully.

"Yes, I know. I was there, but I went to look for my brother to see if he wanted to spend some time together tomorrow since we have not been seeing each other much lately." Loki responded smoothly as if it were the actual truth.

"Oh. Well, did you find him?" You asked as you began walking.

"No, I did not." Loki replied.

"Well, let's go look for him some more then. You tried his quarters I assume?" You asked as you began walking in the direction of Thor's room.

Loki quickened his pace to catch up with you as you continued walking, "Yes, I did. He was not there. I am quite sure that I would have seen him if he had returned there recently."

"Well, there is no harm in checking!" You smiled at Loki who looked worried.

"I do not think that-" Loki began but stopped speaking when the two of you entered the corridor and Fandral lying on the floor came into view.

"Is that…Fandral? He looks hurt!" You exclaimed as you looked back at Loki who looked stoic.

"You…Loki…you did this to him. That's why you didn't want me to come down here!" You shouted as you stared at Loki in disbelief before running to Fandral's side.

You were crouched down beside Fandral who was groaning. You did not hear Loki approach as he said, "It is not what you think."

You shook your head as you said, "Fandral, come with me. I am going to take you back to your room."

Fandral groaned in response which you just assumed was his acceptance of your statement. You put a lot of effort into helping Fandral to his room before you returned to find Loki standing in the corridor with his expression sorrowful.

"Did you do that to him?!" You asked in alarm pointing in the direction of Fandral's room as you gazed up at Loki.

Loki tilted his head down to look at you with tired eyes. Loki opened his mouth to speak and before he can, you said, "Gods, you did!"

Loki set his mouth in a firm line. "I did not say that."

"You didn't need to. It was written all over your face!" You exclaimed.

"Aurora-" Loki sighed.

"No, Loki." you shook your head. "You can't just injure someone like that."

Loki narrowed his eyes down at you. "He instigated the fight with me. I did not seek him out yearning for a quarrel."

"It is of no concern who started it!" You yelled.

"He struck at me first, Aurora! I was defending myself!" Loki said growing agitated.

"You could have just used your magic to get away; you didn't need to rough him up!" You exclaimed gesturing wildly.

"Aurora," Loki grabbed your arm just below your elbow causing you to gasp. He had never gripped you so tightly before and his large hand and long fingers wrapped completely around your arm. "Do you not recall how he treated me when we were children?"

"Loki," You said firmly as you writhed in his grasp, "let me go this instant."

"You didn't answer my question." Loki said devoid of any emotion.

You were even frightened that the anger was gone from his voice and that it had been replaced with an eerily calm tone.

You continued to try and break free from Loki's hold as you used your free hand to try and pry his fingers off your arm. Loki's emerald orbs stared into yours as you tried to look as irate as possible. Loki did indeed release his grip on your arm, but now both of his hands were on each of your shoulders. Loki towered over you as his hands weighed down on you, rooting you to where you stood. Loki never broke his stare as he continued to look down at you.

Refusing to break the stare, you sighed heavily and replied, "Fine, okay? Clearly I can't escape so you win."

Loki said softly, "I do not know what you are playing at: this is not a game."

You huffed angrily and spread your arms out as best as you could with Loki's hands you're your shoulders saying, "Then what is this, Loki? You have me held in place by your hands in the middle of the damn corridor where everyone can see us and it looks like you're threatening me or something."

"No one can see us nor can they hear us. My magic is concealing you and I from any by passers." Loki spoke.

You let out a frustrated noise as you raised your voice, "THAT'S JUST PERFECT! NO ONE CAN HEAR ME YELLING SO I'M GOING TO KEEP DOING IT UNTIL YOU LET ME GO!"

One of Loki's hands left your shoulder and moved to cover your mouth. You struggled to speak against Loki's palm as he just looked at you sadly. His expression was pained as his eyes pleaded with you.

"Please Aurora," Loki implored, "struggling will only make this worse. I just want to speak with you and you aren't going to contribute to the conversation if you scream at me when your attempts to be heard are futile anyway."

You furrowed your eyebrows at Loki which caused him to sigh and continue speaking, "I have no desire to argue with you. I trust you have not forgotten what Fandral has done to me in the past; you were of course, the only person who ever defended me. His behavior enraged you as much as I. Has your perspective changed? Fandral is still an insolent fool desperate to gain the upper hand on others. I will not tolerate such behavior from him, or anyone. If anyone acts so defiantly, they will face the consequences. Aurora, just because we have gotten older does not mean maturity has grown with us. It is apparent that Fandral still lacks that quality. Yet, I can sense that you would argue, if you could speak," Loki smirked, "that I have also failed to display maturity in roughing him up, as you say, even more so that I am exerting force upon you, a person much smaller and weaker than myself. But is this not what I had been forced to endure at the hands of everyone else?"

You stared up at Loki shaking your head as much as you could with Loki's palm still pressed against your lips.

Loki squinted at you in confusion and tilted his head. "You perplex me, Aurora."

You were growing tired of this interaction with Loki. You couldn't speak because of his hand and you also couldn't run away from him. Even if you could run, he would catch you in an instant because of his long legs. Also, no one could help you because Loki had concealed both of you with magic which further ensured that you would just have to be patient and wait for Loki to finish his tirade. You figured you would just have to act like you were listening while Loki spoke his mind. He probably just needed to vent and once he was done, he would let you go. You never expected to become a hostage at the hands of your best friend, literally.

Loki sighed and lowered his head. His head was still inches above yours and you did not dare to look up at his eyes which were surely right above you, waiting for you to do just that.

Loki removed his hand from your mouth and said, "You may not believe me, but I hate myself for this. I-I don't know what possessed me to act like this towards you. I just...became angry when it sounded like you were on Fandral's side instead of mine."

"It isn't about sides, Loki. It's about what's right." You spoke firmly despite being shaken up from Loki's aggressiveness.

Loki inhaled sharply and lifted a hand to run it through his black hair. The sudden movement caused you to jolt reflexively which was not missed by Loki.

"YES, AURORA, FLINCH EVERY TIME I MOVE! THAT IS WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD DO FROM NOW ON BECAUSE EVERY LITTLE MOVEMENT I MAKE IS CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED TO INFLICT PAIN ON SOMEONE!" Loki erupted causing you to flinch yet again.

"I-I…" You stammered, unable to form the right words or hardly any at all.

Loki continued to yell as he said, "SINCE YOU SEEM TO THINK I AM GOING TO HURT YOU WHY NOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT NOW?!"

Loki grabbed your wrist before you had time to react and roughly pushed you against the wall like he had recently done to Fandral. Loki's eyes were searing holes into you as he stared at you full of unbridled rage. You couldn't tell if he was angry at you, Fandral, or himself, but no matter whom the culprit was, you were the one who was face to face with Loki in his violent state and you knew that there was nothing you could do to protect yourself against him.

"Loki-" You began to say as you stared back at him feeling the grip of his long fingers against your wrist as you felt the unwanted and unintended tears begin to form in your eyes.

Loki was still glaring at you venomously as if he was the snake and you were the prey. You shut your eyes knowing that at any moment the snake could strike and it would all be over. There was no doubt in your mind that Loki could kill you if he wanted to, you just hoped to the gods that he didn't.

Loki did not speak, but his eyes left yours to follow the path of a lone tear as it cascaded down your cheek. You opened your eyes to see Loki lifting a finger on his free hand to your cheek. You fought the urge to flinch so as not to invoke his rage again because that was not at all what you wanted to do. Loki's finger touched your cheek and you bit your lip and sucked in your breath waiting for the snake to strike.

The snake didn't strike. Loki's fingertip caught the teardrop and he lifted his finger away from your face to inspect it before squishing it in between his fingers. You dared to lift your eyes to meet Loki's, but his eyes were not on you. He was still staring at his fingers.

"I am a monster…just like everyone says." Loki spoke quietly, almost inaudibly.

You swallowed before saying, "No, Loki. You are not a monster."

Loki's eyes shot to yours, but you met him with a steady gaze as he said, "Then why do I act this way?"

You looked at Loki sadly and answered, "I truly do not know, Loki, but I will help you. We'll try and figure this out okay?"

Loki looked at you and simply said, "Do not do that."

You looked puzzled as you asked, "Don't help you? Why not?"

Loki released his hold on your wrist as he said, "I am so sorry, Aurora."

"Loki, I don't understand…" You said eyeing him carefully as Loki stared intently at you and then turned away.

You ran after him yelling, "Loki wait!"

You reached out for him, but before you could touch him, Loki disappeared right before your eyes. He had slipped through your fingers and now you stood in the middle of the corridor staring into the empty hallway unaware of where Loki had gone and what he had meant when he said he was sorry.


	24. Chapter 24(Adolescence)

Hello everyone! It seems like every time I post a new chapter I get another story follower or favorite and that makes me happy to see :) Of course, I have to thank my reviewers for the last chapter:

**A Wild Clover**- I'm sorry it made you cry :( It almost made me cry while writing it. Yes! Moving on up in the world with each update! I loved writing the dark turn of the last chapter and there will be more dark Loki! Thank you! Hmm, if I land on Thorsday perhaps it would be permitted! (Oh, the terrible puns...) I hope you had a nice Fourth of July as well :)

**Katerina13**- :( Loki is having a rough time of it. He does need someone to be there for him and he's pushing her away like some people do when things aren't going well, but Loki really does need someone to remind him what he isn't. I agree, I think that would push him over the edge but don't worry, since I'm following the timeline of the movies, he isn't going to find out about his parentage yet :) Thank you! This was my favorite chapter to write so far and long reviews are great! No need to apologize :)

So this chapter isn't as long as I wanted it to be, but it's setting the stage for what else is to come in the next couple chapters. I also want to note that I think I'm going to post a few more chapters for adolescence before moving on to yes...the "Thor" portion of this fanfic! As I write the next few chapters I'll have further information on when I will be moving on to writing from the Thor movie onward. So, without further ado, here is chapter 24! Again, I apologize for the length of this, but the next one will be longer!

* * *

The next day after you were free to leave the courts, you immediately began searching for Loki. You hadn't seen him since his abrupt departure in the corridor the night before when he had look troubled and apologized to you. You worried not only for him, but for the fate of your friendship with him as well. Maintaining a friendship with Loki was not always easy, but you believed that he was worth the struggles that inevitably occur in any friendship. You just had to fight for the people you wanted to keep in your life and you would always fight for Loki, no matter how many battle scars you acquired along the way.

You wanted to keep Loki in your life; you thought that his companionship was worth any trial that you had to face in order to keep him there. You could only hope that he felt the same way about you as you frantically ran through the palace, scouring the entire place for any sign of Loki, mischief or otherwise.

"Slow down, Aurora! What is the urgency?" Your mother Idun inquired.

You halted to a stop and turned around to see your mother walking toward you. Sighing, you said, "I'm looking for Loki, mother. Have you seen him?"

Your heart was pounding in your chest even before your mother delivered the crushing news to you, "Loki is not on Asgard, dear. I thought you knew of this."

You gaped at your mother, but quickly shut your mouth remembering your manners. Noticing your surprise, Idun continued, "King Odin has traveled to Midgard taking both Loki and Thor with him. He wishes for them to understand the culture in which we are all worshipped as deities. Do not worry; they are not going to a battle."

You started breathing quickly as you thought to yourself, "_Loki has gone to Midgard? Surely he would have told me about this a long time ago if he knew King Odin had planned this trip? I wonder how long he is to be gone for…"_

Your mother was eyeing you with a look of concern so you filled the silence by asking, "How long will they be gone for, mother?"

Your mother gave you a slight smile as she answered, "They'll be back before you know it, dear. Now, you can spend some time with me instead of running around with Loki for a change."

You rolled your eyes, "He's my best friend."

"Yes, and he will still be your best friend when he returns." Your mother said placing a hand on your shoulder.

You followed your mother as she directed you to walk with her. Thoughts were swarming your mind, but the most salient of all was, "_If only she knew what was going on then she wouldn't be so confident about that._"

* * *

Several days had passed by in Asgard without Loki or Thor in the palace. Their absence was truly palpable and you missed both of them greatly. You mostly kept to yourself since Loki wasn't around, but you had spoken to Sif on occasion. She mostly just ranted about how Loki had supposedly chopped her hair off and she seemed to think that you knew something about it, which you didn't. However, you told her that you wouldn't be surprised if Loki actually did such a thing since he had a propensity for wreaking havoc on others. Sif seemed pleased that you weren't verbally attacking her for accusing Loki and the two of you spoke from time to time during the brothers' absences. As it turned out, Sif greatly missed Thor and also hoped that he would return soon. You took this as your opportunity to find out more about their sudden visit to Midgard.

"Did Thor tell you that he was going to Midgard?" You asked Sif.

Sif shook her head and replied, "He did not. Did Loki tell you that he was?"

"No, there was no mention of it at all." You said simply.

"I suppose it is good to know that our friends were not keeping secrets from us then." Sif laughed lightly.

You laughed too, feeling relieved that Loki wasn't hiding the trip from you after all, "I guess it was sudden then, not planned at all."

Sif looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "It does not seem like Odin to randomly leave Asgard as he usually plans everything, but perhaps he was able to leave for a period of time because things are going smoothly here now."

"If you don't count the incident with Nidhogg and Verdandi, that is." You added.

Sif nodded in remembrance, "That is true, but everything was handled rather quickly. I heard that Verdandi is to leave the healing room and return to tending Yggdrasil soon."

"That is great news!" You exclaimed, "I am sure that Laga will be happy to relinquish her temporary position."

Sif laughed, "I would be too."

You laughed with Sif and then you both released a collective sigh.

Sif turned to face you and said, "We have been distant from each other lately, Aurora, and I want to apologize for that."

You diverted your hazel eyes to meet Sif's brown eyes and said, "It is partially my fault too, I didn't make much of an effort to close the gap between us and for that, I am sorry too."

Sif smiled and hugged you, a gesture that you returned.

"I suppose that we have both gotten caught up in different groups." Sif spoke.

"Yes…I don't know how you can stand being near Fandral so much." You admitted.

Sif cracked a small smile and said, "He can be annoying at times. He is rather full of himself and rarely tends to stop speaking."

You laughed, "I can certainly see that."

"Loki is certainly a much better companion for one's ears." Sif remarked.

You stiffened slightly at Sif's mention of Loki. She had heard rumors about an unpleasant encounter between the two of them and she knew how most people felt about the raven haired prince.

"Yes," You began carefully, "Loki is not as pompous as Fandral."

Sif laughed nervously and said, "For now, anyway. Maybe one day they will both be in competition for the title of who has the healthiest ego."

You looked at Sif in confusion, "Are we talking about the same Loki here?"

"Oh come on, Aurora," Sif said shifting to face you better, "you know that Loki isn't the same was he was before; he's changed."

"_There it is,_" you thought, "_the dreaded 'they've changed' talk_."

"We've all changed though, Sif. None of us are exactly the same as we were when we were children. We wouldn't be growing up if we were." You said, trying to laugh the topic off.

"Yes, but Loki isn't…like the rest of us." Sif trailed off cautiously.

"What do you mean, Sif? I'm not like the rest of you." You pointed out.

"While you are not exactly like us, Aurora, Loki is even more different." Sif said warily.

"What is wrong with being different?" You asked.

Sif leaned forward and stared into your eyes so deeply that it made you bite your lip in discomfort and glance away for a moment before returning your gaze back to hers.

"When I look into your eyes, I can see your emotions there. I can tell that you're uncomfortable right now and what's more; I can see your _soul_." Sif finished with emphasis on her last word.

"Uh, you're starting to creep me out, Sif." You muttered.

Instead of stopping, Sif continued as she said, "My point is, that I can see or at least have a decent guess at what you are feeling, thinking, and what your motives are, but Loki?" Sif shook her head, "It's like I'm looking into a hazy green void that threatens to suck me in without any hope for escape."

You choked and said, "Sif, it sounds like you are saying rather dramatically that Loki doesn't have a soul."

"You know him better than I do, Aurora. Do you think there's more to Loki than the mischief and darkness we see?" Sif asked you, ignoring your statement.

"Of course I do! Loki has a heart!" You exclaimed.

Sif nodded, "At least you see a different side of him that he chooses not to reveal to anyone else."

"I do," You breathed, "but I have also seen the other side of him and I also worry that something might be happening to him."

Sif cleared her throat and stood up saying, "Let us hope for all of our sakes that when Loki and Thor return, that we see more of the harmless Loki than the Loki who could bring more than mischief with him."

"I hope so too." You said softly as you followed Sif out of the corridor.


	25. Chapter 25 (Adolescence)

Hello my lovely readers! I apologize for this update taking a few days, I wanted to have it up much sooner than this. Anyway, this is chapter 25 and it is on the sadder side of things, but bare with me, it won't stay that way! As I mentioned in a previous chapter, adolescence is coming to a close soon, probably 2 or 3 more chapters and then this story will begin following the Thor timeline.

To my reviewers:

**A Wild Clover**- I do too, I like to feel something from a book or movie. Of course, in the moment I'm complaining about how sad it is, but I still like things that provoke some sort of emotion. References are always wonderful! Having characters that have their own inner struggles make it easier for people to relate to who might not necessarily have anyone in their lives to relate to about certain things, or feel comfortable enough to reveal those sides and as people, I think we all deserve someone we can do that with and if we don't have those people, at least we can turn to literature or movies to feel that void until someone does appear.

Thank you, I hope yours went well! I hope you have an awesome trip and this chapter will be available for you to read when you can, it won't leave you! I swear! You are meeting wax Spock? O_o That is quite awesome, I must say. Thank you for your review as always :)

**Cougar rolypoly bug**- They do need each other! Some of these chapters have been inspired by events that happened this year between one of my best friends and I. We've had some really rough patches and I thought I lost him forever, but he came back in my life and I'm so happy he did. We always get through everything, no matter how bad it seems and what is going on with Aurora and Loki is modeled after some of what I've dealt with this year. I will be! My plan is to end this story with Thor and make the sequel the Avengers, and then I already have a plan for the beginning of the sequel with Thor 2...I really want to get to that scene because it's been in my head for awhile now, but I've got a long way to go! Thank you for your review as always :)

And thank you to **Bunicorn** for reviewing an earlier chapter, I'm very flattered and humbled by your kind words :)

Also, thank you to my new followers and those who have favorite this! Now, here is chapter 25!

* * *

It felt like an eternity had passed before Loki finally returned from Midgard. You knew that your anxious waiting had made time move by slower, but you couldn't help but feel worried about what would happen between you and Loki when he returned to Asgard. You had heard a rumor circulating around the palace that King Odin and his sons would be returning today and while you were accustomed to ignoring rumors, this was one that you hoped was true. However, for all of your anxious wishing, you were also nervous and part of you wished you had more time to prepare to see Loki again. You didn't want to make a fool out of yourself in front of him especially when the last time you saw him, he parted on strange terms. You weren't sure which Loki to expect; the happy and calm Loki or the violent and intimidating Loki. You never knew which side of him you were going to see and sometimes, that was more frightening than even facing Loki's violent side. The unpredictability of Loki's actions was the most frightening of all because you never knew what to expect or when to expect him to lash out. Yet for all of Loki's unpredictability and potential danger, you still cared for him and wanted to remain best friends with him. You saw a light inside of Loki, as dim as it sometimes became, you knew that it was still shining out from the darkness inside of him.

You were walking through the palace nearing King Odin's domain when you saw him speaking to his sons. You quickly hid behind a pillar so as to remain out of sight. You knew that King Odin could detect your presence, but you hoped that he would not feel the need to call you out from your hiding spot. You were relieved when King Odin parted ways with Thor and Loki to return to his chambers while the two brothers began walking in your direction.

You could hear the two brothers talking about Midgard and words that you did not understand. You assumed that the words related to something they had seen or experienced while on Midgard. You were slightly envious of the two brothers because you wanted to travel to the other realms, Midgard included, and Loki and Thor had done just that.

"_Okay,_" you thought, "_I'm more than slightly envious._"

Anyone who knew you well enough knew that it was no secret that you desired to travel. You liked life on Asgard well enough, but you wanted to absorb the cultures of other realms and see what life was like there compared to Asgard. Asgard was all you knew, and you wanted to know more.

"Brother, that holiday that they call, Christmas was it?" Thor asked.

"Yes, brother, it is called Christmas." Loki replied with a nod as the two brothers continued walking down the corridor.

"Ah yes, well why don't we have Christmas here? I quite liked the festive decorations and happy atmosphere." Thor inquired.

"We do not celebrate Christmas here because it is strictly a Midgardian holiday that was originally instituted to honor the birth of their savior whom they call Jesus Christ. He is one of the three forms of their god, a being of the Holy Trinity as it is called. We do not celebrate Christmas because we are not followers of Christ." Loki explained.

"I see…but it did not look like they were celebrating his birth. Why were they receiving gifts?" Thor asked.

Loki sighed and looked at his brother, "Were you not paying attention to father's words?"

Thor just blankly smiled at Loki who continued, "The holiday known as Christmas has transformed over the years into a holiday of gift giving for most people. Most people have forgotten the true meaning of the holiday or choose to ignore that meaning in order to celebrate it their own way, by satiating their greediness."

"Loki, you make Midgardians sound so selfish and petty." Thor frowned.

"I have not portrayed them in such a light; they have succeeded in doing it by themselves." Loki hissed through his teeth.

"I do not see what is wrong with giving people you love presents. I love receiving gifts!" Thor smiled brightly.

Loki rolled his eyes, "Yes, Thor. Everyone enjoys receiving a token of affection or appreciation, but you mustn't forget to pay proper homage to your superiors."

Thor looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I do not think that this Jesus Christ fellow would think himself as superior to the Midgardians. From what father has told us, it sounds as if Jesus Christ views himself as equal to the Midgardians."

Loki scoffed, "Well, if he's a god at all, he certainly isn't equal to them."

"I suppose you are right, brother." Thor said quietly, as if he could not find a way to refute his brother's statement.

"Of course I am." Loki said with a tone of finality as the two brothers neared where you were hiding.

You racked your brain trying to decide if you should remain hidden or if you should start walking so that you would run into the two brothers. While you were trying to make a decision, Loki stopped in his tracks and turned his head to the left which was in your general direction.

"What is it, brother?" Thor asked Loki.

Before Loki responded to Thor, Loki's voice reverberated in your mind, "_I can feel you here. Come out, Aurora._"

You sucked in a breath before breathing out again in an attempt to steady your racing heart as you complied.

"Greetings, Lady Aurora! I have not seen you for quite some time now!" Thor exclaimed as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug.

"Hello to you to, Thor." You laughed as much as you could with Thor's arms crushing you in his embrace.

"Try not to break her, brother." Loki's calm voice spoke.

"Right, sorry Lady Aurora. I do not wish to break you with my embrace; that would not be a proper way to greet a friend." Thor apologized as he released his grip and placed you safely back on the floor.

"It is quite alright, Thor." You laughed as you smoothed your gown.

"I am glad to hear!" Thor smiled.

"As am I. Now, Thor, would you be as kind as to leave Aurora and I alone for a moment? I have not seen her in quite some time as you worded it, and I must speak to her about something in private." Loki spoke.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you waited for Thor's response, which would surely be one that adhered to his brother's wishes.

"Certainly, brother. Farewell to you both! I must also seek out my other friends!" Thor said jovially as he left the area.

You stood stark still as you swallowed another lump in your throat while Loki watched Thor depart from the corridor before slowly turning his head towards you.

You steadied your internal flurry of nerves as you met Loki's gaze for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Eternity had ended, and here you were, at the end of your waiting period, yet still waiting for something to happen.

"I know that I have not escaped from your thoughts during my absence." Loki said simply.

"Did your mind reading tell you that?" You asked.

"No, I do not have to invade your mind to know that my manner of parting from you at our last encounter has plagued your mind. It would affect me too, if I were in your position." Loki replied without so much as a smile.

You breathed in and said, "Then why did you leave me in such a state to wallow in this confused and nervous state while you went away to Midgard?"

Loki's mouth twitched slightly, but no smirk or smile resulted as he replied smoothly, "You are not safe."

You stared at Loki and asked, "What do you mean I'm not safe?"

Loki took a step closer to you and stared down at you, "You are not safe near me and I am sure you have already thought the same thing yourself, Aurora."

"Loki, please," You spoke, feeling the hot tears prick your eyes, "don't talk like this."

Loki looked at you expressionless as he spoke calmly, "Aurora, I want nothing more than for you to be safe. Even I do not know when I am going to lose control and I do not want you to be around me when that happens. I am volatile, Aurora. I am unpredictable and impossible for you to restrain. What if I killed you?"

You felt the tears threatening to fall as you shook your head, "You wouldn't do that, Loki."

"But I could, you know." Loki said sadly.

You gingerly reached out to touch Loki's hand as you wrapped your fingers around it and looking up at Loki said, "Yes, you could, but you won't."

Loki looked down at your hand holding his and asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because you know that I am not your enemy." You replied.

Loki sighed, but did not remove his hand from yours as he said, "You are not my enemy, and I know that, but when I lose control, I don't know anything anymore. Everything fades to black and it's just me all alone in this abyss of anger and a desire to destroy anything in my path or cause pain."

"Loki, no," You shook your head rapidly, "that isn't you. You are more than your anger and abilities. Those things don't make you."

"Then what does make me?" Loki jerked his head up with watery eyes to look at you.

"Your soul, Loki. That is what makes you. In here." You spoke as you touched the front of his armor, right over his beating heart.

Loki breathed in deeply and you felt the rise of his chest under your palm as you looked at him, hoping, silently pleading for a breakthrough.

"What if I do not have one?" Loki asked you.

"You can't be serious, Loki. Everyone has one, and that includes you." You spoke.

Loki looked forlorn as he replied, "I am not as convinced of my good nature as you are. My bright is too slight to hold back all my dark, Aurora, and it is not going to get any brighter than it is now."

You shook your head again as you clasped Loki's hand tighter, "There is good in you, Loki. I've seen it!"

Loki knitted his eyebrows at you in disbelief, "I doubt that."

"No, Loki. I see it every day. Whenever I'm with you, I can see it, I can feel it, and I can hear it, that you are good. You may not think so, but I know you are. I know that you care about me and love me as your best friend, and while sometimes things go wrong between us, I'm never going to give up on you. I promise you that Loki Odinson, do you hear me? I promise you I will never give up on you!" You exclaimed as you grasped his hand tighter and shook it with both hands for emphasis.

"Aurora, I want you to be safe. Do you hear me? I do love you and care about you and that is why I am telling you that it is best for you if I distance myself from you. I'm dangerous and we both know it. I appreciate your resilience and loyalty, but I do not want those admirable traits to be your demise, Aurora. Even more so, I do not want it to be my fault. I could not live with the guilt. Could you please give me this, Aurora?" Loki asked as he placed his hands on your shoulders.

You simply stared up at Loki, finding it harder and harder not to cry.

Loki continued as he said, "Do not cry, Aurora. I am doing this for your safety, you may not think I am being a good friend to you right now, but in time you will see and you will understand why I had to do this. I do not want you to be sad, but I do not want you to get hurt by me either."

"I can take it." You choked out through your tears.

Loki looked at you with his emerald eyes full of sadness, "No, you can't Aurora. Any day I hurt you could be the last and I never want to see that day come."

"Don't speak like this, please, Loki! You don't know what you're saying!" You screamed.

"Oh, but I do, Aurora. I do know…" Loki trailed off as he looked down at you, "I want to protect you, Aurora. I am your friend and I have to protect you from anything or anybody that may harm you, and that includes me."

You felt as if your heart was truly breaking inside of you, you felt an immense, throbbing pain in your chest as if your heart was threatening to burst inside of you. If this was what it felt like to truly have your heart broken, you never wanted to experience it again.

You stared at Loki as you tried to ignore the pain in your chest, "I won't let you."

Loki sadly smiled at you looking wistful as he said, "I knew that you would be stubborn about this."

"You should never expect any less from me, Loki." You replied trying to prolong his stay.

"Aurora," Loki began, "I want you to know that my actions do not mean I do not love you. I do, Aurora, you are my friend and I love you, but that is why I have to stay away from you. I have to keep you safe; even if doing so means that I have to exit your life."

You shook your head furiously at Loki as he stepped closer to you to place his hands on either side of your face. Loki stared into your tear stricken eyes and spoke softly, "You will have a fantastic life, do you hear me? You do not need me in it to have a wonderful life. I understand that you might be mad at me, but that is alright because I would rather have you angry and safe than placid and at risk."

"Loki, I do need you. You are my friend, my best friend and I-" You began but stopped speaking when Loki pulled you into a hug.

At that point, all of your resolve broke down as you freely sobbed in Loki's arms. Loki let you cry as he moved one of his hands in circles around your back. Then, Loki released you and offered you a faint smile.

"I do not want to go, but I must. Please do not hate me for this, Aurora." Loki spoke sadly as his own eyes became shiny with fresh tears threatening to fall.

"I could never hate you, Loki." You managed to say.

Loki gave you a small smile, stared back at you for what felt like an eternity, and then walked away taking eternity with him. You watched Loki go, waiting for him to turn around, but he didn't.

That is, until the walls caved in around you.


	26. Chapter 26(Adolescence)

This is the quickest update I've done in awhile! There isn't much to be said right now, other than the characters/creatures/whatever you wish to call them that are in this chapter aren't part of the storyline until Thor 2 I felt like giving them a small scene in this story because I wield the creative power here and I didn't want to put a Frost Giant scene here so close to the point where they enter in Thor which is coming very soon. The next chapter (or two, depending on how chapter 27 flows) are concluding adolescence and serving as a prelude into Thor, showing things we didn't get to see in Thor, like Loki and Thor finding out who the heir is and Loki going to the Frost Giants before Thor's coronation.

Since this is up so early I only have one reviewer to respond to, **A Wild Clover**, Oh don't worry! I have thought those same thoughts numerous times myself, I've also engaged in debates with friends over those thoughts as well. I've used the same logic you are employing, yet a number of my friends are religious and they don't try to convert me and I don't try to convert them so we are all good! I am actually not religious, I am agnostic, but I figured that it might be a Thor kind of thing to say, disagreeing with Loki about Christianity which was the religion I decided to choose for their disagreement after visiting our lovely Midgard which actually, isn't always so lovely. I am glad you liked the chapter and while I do put in some sentimental things corresponding with Aurora and Loki's friendship, they are not going to be romantically affiliated, strictly friendzone in this fanfic! Hmmm...someone should enlarge wax Spock's face. *Spock hand*

Alright, so here is chapter 26! Chapter 27 hopefully soon to follow, sometime this weekend! I will not be home Saturday though, or for the afternoon on Sunday so either tomorrow or Sunday night I hope to have it up!

* * *

"Aurora!"

"Aurora!"

"Answer me!"

"Can you hear me?!"

You could faintly hear the sound of someone yelling your name, a voice you assumed to be Loki's, but you couldn't reply. You could barely move and even if you could shout, your voice would not be loud enough to transpire from the wreckage that trapped you on the floor. You struggled to free a leg, an arm, something, anything, from the rubble, but you were unsuccessful. So, in order to prevent straining your muscles and using up your air, you decided to remain still beneath the wreckage that was crushing your body beneath it.

"Aurora, I do not know if you can hear me, but I am coming to get you! Just keep breathing and try to stay calm!" You hear Loki's voice ring out.

You didn't have much of a choice, so you did exactly what Loki instructed you to do. You breathed and waited. You were surprised to find that you could keep as calm as you were since you had never been trapped under something so heavy before that was threatening to crush you and kill you.

Eventually, however, you were starting to feel lightheaded and you could feel your heart beating faster. You weren't sure if you were panicking, running out of air, or both. You felt like you were going to doze off when you heard the sound of shifting stone above you. The noise made you alert because you realized that Loki was getting closer to rescuing you from the wreckage.

You still couldn't move and it was getting increasingly harder to breathe, but you decided to use whatever air you had left in your lungs to yell out to Loki, "I can hear you, Loki! You've almost found me! Hurry, please!"

Loki responded back, "I can hear you too, Aurora! I will have you out of there soon!"

You tried to keep your eyes open, but you couldn't anymore as you felt your mind slip away. The dismal color of your stone prison faded away into black as you lost consciousness.

* * *

**Loki's POV**

I frantically sifted through the remnants of part of the palace wall as I worked as quickly as possible to uncover Aurora. I did not know how far under she was, but judging by the volume of her voice when I last spoke to her, she could not be too far under the wreckage.

After tossing aside numerous chunks of the wall varying in size and weight, I saw a glimpse of Aurora's hair and gown. I proceeded to move even faster now that she was in sight, but I had to remove more of the rubble before pulling her out so as to avoid injuring her more than she probably already was injured. I cleared away the debris near her head first and then over her upper body as I placed my hand under the rubble and around her waist to lift her up. I managed to free her from the wreckage with a slight tug and kicking of the pieces of the wall near her feet to get better leverage.

I breathed heavily as I stepped away from the mountain of stone and sat down on the floor with Aurora limp in my arms. I looked down at her as tears filled my eyes. I had just tried to walk away from her in order to protect her from harm that I might cause her, but I had failed to protect her from harm not caused by me. I should never have thought so foolishly, to think that she would be better off without me in her life. She needed me and I needed her. She needs me now and I still need her.

I inhaled sharply as my fingers tightened and a tear fell from my eye darkening a tiny part of the fabric on her gown. I clutched her tightly against me and rested my head on her chest, unsure of what to do. It was then that I heard a faint noise coming from inside of her. Her heart was still beating! I stood up quickly, deciding that I was going to take her to the healing room right away.

"What a shame it is for there to be such a pretty casualty." A low voice spoke from somewhere behind me.

I whirled around with Aurora still in my arms to find that standing where the wall had once been, was a Dark Elf. I had never encountered one before, but I had read about them. The Dark Elves are similar to humans, but superior. However, they are weaker than Asgardians.

I gritted my teeth as I growled, "She is not dead."

The Dark Elf smiled maliciously and said, "Perhaps I should change that then, I would hate to be incorrect in my previous statement."

"You will commit no such act! Now leave before you are the one who is dead!" I yelled.

The Dark Elf laughed, "I do not feel threatened by a mere Asgardian child, especially since you are outnumbered.

As if on cue, several other Dark Elves emerged from behind the first one. I tensed up and looked around. While I was indeed outnumbered, I was not outmatched.

I smirked as I said, "The fact that I am outnumbered does not matter, nor is it true."

The leader spoke, "Are you blind, Asgardian? Look around you! There are ten of us and one of you!"

"Perhaps you should look again, elf." I sneered as I used my magic to duplicate myself.

Now, my copies outnumbered the elves as one of my copies held Aurora.

The real me stepped closer to the elf in charge and said, "I am giving you the opportunity to retreat. If you do not, you will die."

Without warning, the Dark Elves began fighting with my duplicates. Anytime one of them struck a duplicate, it faded into the air. The Dark Elves also possessed magic, but I knew their weakness.

"You may have magic, but so do I and mine is better than yours!" I yelled as I made an iron sword appear out of the air.

I swung at the nearest elf and killed it. Four of the other elves came rushing toward me and I waited until they were within my arm's reach to spin and slash each of them in a circle with the iron sword. Two more came running towards me, but I disappeared before they could reach me and then I struck them down with the sword from behind them. Only the leader was remaining.

He did not look pleased as he snarled at me, "You may have killed those who came here with me, but you will not do the same to me!"

He rushed towards me and succeeded in taking a blow at me that created a gash on my cheek, but it was nothing to worry about at all.

"Tell me why you came to Asgard!" I yelled as he tried to gain the upper hand.

"You will only know if I am to fall!" The Dark Elf shouted as he struck at me again, but missed.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled as I hurled an orb of magic at him causing him to fall to the ground, convulsing.

I waved my hand and ceased the effects of the magic, but I placed the tip of the sword on his chest and leaned down to stare into his dark eyes.

"Before I kill you, you will tell me."

"Why would I do that?" He asked, teeming with arrogance.

"Because if you do not, you will suffer." I growled as I held my hand over him and caused him to writhe in pain with my dark magic.

I watched the Dark Elf twitch on the ground before me and as I glanced over to where Aurora now laid on the floor, I was growing impatient.

"TELL ME!" I screamed.

"I am part of a rogue group of Dark Elves that wished to conquer the realm eternal. While we were a small force, we thought it was better to try than do nothing." The Dark Elf managed to say after I lifted the dark magic.

"You were foolish to try. Your fellow members have paid with their lives, and so have you, beaten by a mere Asgardian child, as you so wrongly phrased it." I said sternly as I thrust the iron sword into the Dark Elf's heart causing him to disintegrate into dust like the others.

I made the sword vanish as I rushed to Aurora's side. I picked her up and when I turned around, I saw my father standing where I had just slayed the last Dark Elf.

"Well done, son." My father said.

I walked towards him as I said, "Thank you, father. I am sorry I cannot stay as I must take Aurora to the healing room. She is unconscious."

My father looked from me to Aurora's form in my arms as he placed his hand over her face. Aurora began to stir and finally, she opened her eyes.

* * *

**Aurora's POV**

"L-loki?" I asked shakily as the blurry scene before me came into focus.

"Yes, Aurora, it's me." Loki responded as his face became clear in my sight.

"W-what happened? And why are you holding me?" I asked looking down at the ground which was strewn with debris.

"When you were trapped under the remnants of the palace wall, you fainted before I could get you out. When I did, it came to my attention that Dark Elves had somehow infiltrated the palace and they were responsible for blowing up the wall which unfortunately, fell on you." Loki explained.

"Ughh…my head hurts." You whined.

Loki chuckled as King Odin spoke, "It is natural that it would and my son should take you to the healing room before any of your other injuries become worse."

"I will, father." Loki responded with a nod of the head.

"After you escort Lady Aurora to the healing room, come back and speak to me, Loki." King Odin said.

Loki nodded as he began to walk in the direction of the healing room, but you spoke, stopping him by saying, "Loki, you don't have to carry me like I'm some damsel in distress. You can put me down now."

"Are you sure? You are quite unsteady." Loki said raising an eyebrow.

You nodded, "Yes, I think I can walk."

"Very well then." Loki sighed as he placed you back down on the floor.

You began walking, but teetered a bit and almost fell before Loki caught you and held your side with a hand.

"I would wrap your arm over my shoulder for support, but seeing as you are so short, that would not work. Since you also insist on walking, I will support you this way instead of carrying you to the healing room. Does that suffice?" Loki asked.

"It does, since you've asked." You laughed slightly although you weren't sure why.

Loki eyed you suspiciously as the two of you eventually made it to the healing room where Loki left you to be tended to as he went back to speak to his father. Loki told you that he would return afterwards, but wouldn't wake you up if you were sleeping.

Shortly after Loki left, you fell asleep in the healing room after you were administered some type of medicine that was supposed to expedite the healing process while also making you drowsy.

* * *

You groaned as you rolled over on your side and opened your eyes. Initially your vision was blurry just like it was when you woke up earlier after fainting, and also like earlier, Loki's form materialized in front of you as your vision regained its usual acuity.

You smiled slightly as you sat up in your bed, "Waiting for me to wake up by my bedside eh?"

"Do not think too much of it, Aurora. I am your friend remember?" Loki asked with a slight smirk.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." You smiled but then paused and spoke again, "Wait…but you said we couldn't be; that's why you walked away and then the Dark Elves blew up the palace wall."

Loki's smile faded as he placed his hand to his forehead and said, "I did say that, yes. However, I was stupid and wrong. I failed to realize that without me, you are in more danger than you are with me."

"I can take care of myself." You said crossing your arms.

Loki gestured to your bruised body with his eyes as he said, "Is that so?"

"That's not fair! This could happen to anyone, even you!" You exclaimed.

Loki chuckled, "Yes, it could happen to me, but it would not have affected me as much as it has affected you. Even so, I am referring to whatever may come, not just this incident."

"Go on." You urged him.

Loki sighed and leaned forward, "You will not hear this from me often, Aurora, so listen closely. I am sorry. I apologize for my moment of error and rash thinking. It is evident that you need me in your life and you know what? I need you in mine too. I know that I can be a bit much to handle sometimes, but you always seem to find a way to deal with me on a daily basis even when I am not so sure that I would be able to do that myself. So, Aurora, I want to tell you that I appreciate you and I probably can never tell you that enough, but there is a first time for everything. I know not what the future will bring, but I do know one thing."

"What is that one thing?" You asked Loki after he paused.

Loki brought his eyes to yours as he said, "I know that I want you there by my side and I want to be by yours no matter what happens."

You smiled at him, "I never expected so much sentiment from you."

Loki rolled his eyes, "Me neither."

"Well, I accept your apology, but you probably expected that." You grinned.

Loki nodded, "I did, but I still needed to say it."

"I'm glad you did." You said as you hugged Loki and then winced.

"It is best that you rest more since you are still in pain." Loki commented.

"I know," You said as you leaned back on the bed, "but I must ask you. Where did the Dark Elves go?"

"I killed them." Loki said flatly.

"Well," You sucked in a breath, "normally I'd tell you that wasn't nice of you to do, but they deserved it."

Loki smirked, "Of course they did. They invaded Asgard and caused harm. Although, I suppose you want to know if anyone else was hurt, but you were the only one affected."

"That's lucky for everyone else, but unlucky for me." You sighed with a small laugh.

"Yes, but you are going to recover and King Odin has gone to Svartalfheim enraged about the event that transpired here. The matter is being handled." Loki said.

"I am confident that your father will handle everything. It is his duty after all." You yawned.

"Indeed. Now, get some sleep. I will see you later, Aurora." Loki said as he stood up.

"Goodnight, Loki." You said as you shut your eyes and rolled over on your side again.

"Goodnight, Aurora." Loki replied as he left the healing room pausing for a moment in the corridor.

You were already sound asleep as Loki breathed in deeply to regain his composure as he made his way to King Odin's domain where he was to meet with King Odin and his brother, Thor. The All Father had finally decided who was to become the heir to the throne and all was to be revealed upon the brothers' arrivals.


End file.
